Fyodor Dostoevsky

November 11, 1821- February 9, 1881

Fyodor Dostoyevsky was a brilliant writer and philosopher who expanded many theories which tremendously affected Russian society. He was born in Moscow, Russia, but would later move to Saint Petersburg in 1837. The time period where he was starting to become famous was near the end of the Age of the Enlightenment and in the middle of the Industrial Revolution. Alexander I, who was Emperor of Russia, passed away, as Nicholas I was next in line, while the army officers failed to abolish serfdom and have constitutionalism. ( A timeline of Russia,) Russia were involved in many wars/battles during Fyodor’s lifetime including: their second war against Persia over Georgia, defeated Egypt at the battle of Navarino, along with Britain and France, attacked/defeated the Ottomans, and helped Austria defeat a nationalist revolt in Hungary.( A timeline of Russia,) The Russian troops also defeated the Romanian revolution, Russia, and the Ottoman empire start the Crimean war, and lastly, Russia ending up defeating the Ottomans once again. (A timeline of Russia,) This all happened in a span from 1826-1878. Other important things happening in this time period were: Russia signing treaties of alliance with Austria and Prussia in 1833 and Alexander II eventually abolishing serfdom, and allowing freedom to 20 million serfs, and land for some of them as well in 1861. Fyodor was living in the era of the landowners and the serfs, multiple years before communism, as Russia unconstrained the serfs severely in 1861.(A timeline of Russia,)

The themes in Fyodor’s four novels, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, The Possessed, and The Brothers Karamazov, reflected what was happening in Russian society. Themes such as nihilism, existentialism, alienation, a human suffering from humour, and psychology. In Notes from the Underground, Dostoyevsky was talking about the issue of undereducated workers and peasants having such limited power and freedom during his time in jail in Siberia. He said that theorists of the 1860’s were to used to European culture, and were too disconnected from their Russian values. He says that we need to go back to follow the primary Russian values such as personal responsibility, brotherly love, family, and religion. In the book, money was also seen as a symbol of power. (“Notes from Underground.” SparkNotes, SparkNotes,) Due to the Underground Man being poor, he could never be social or equal to others throughout the novel. He wasn’t seen as a peasant, but is still ashamed as he still borrows money on a daily basis from anyone he can.(“Notes from Underground.” SparkNotes, SparkNotes,) 

In Crime and Punishment, The Possessed, and the Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor explains in his book the sudden change from being a socialist to a nihilist, right after he got out of jail in Siberia. A nihilist is a person who believes that life is meaningless and doesn’t believe in any religion. During the time Fyodor was alive, more and more people believed in nihilism, as was reflected in Crime and Punishment. (“Crime and Punishment.” SparkNotes, SparkNotes,) He uses the main character Raskolnikov as a socialist, which was the “old Dostoevsky” and used another character named Lebeziatnikov as a nihilist, who wanted to use “new philosophies”. He also talked about how indigent most of the characters in the book, including the main character’s family, the Raskolnikov’s, as he approached his sister about marrying a man just because of his wealth. Dostoyevsky’s description of poverty authorizes him to talk about social issues to make situations, to which the only way to stay alive is through self-sacrifice.(“Crime and Punishment.” SparkNotes, SparkNotes,)   

Fyodor had a huge impact on Russian society, scholars, and philosophers, who came after he had died. He has been acknowledged all over the world as one of the greatest writers and philosophers for multiple years now. His last book, The Brothers Karamazov, was said to be the masterpiece of Western literature. He also influenced Friedrich Nietzsche and Leo Tolstoy. The most crucial years of Dostoevsky’s life were also the most active, as Russian history was changing so much. He became involved in political interests of controversial topics. Fyodor was lastly influenced by radical ideas entering Russia from the West. (“The Brothers Karamazov.” Fyodor Dostoevsky Biography, )

Tobi Osisanya

Works Cited: Bibliography

“Diagnosing Literary Genius.” Google Books,

Roberts, Peter. “EDUCATION AND THE LIMITS OF REASON: READING DOSTOEVSKY.” Educational Theory, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 15 Apr. 2012,

“Handbook of Social Capital.” Google Books,

“Dostoevsky’s Polyphonic Talent.” Google Books, “Introduction: Faith-Based Organisations and Urban Social Issues.” Introduction: Faith-Based Organisations and Urban Social IssuesUrban Studies – Justin Beaumont, 2008,

Other Relevant Readings

A timeline of Russia

“Existentialism.” AllAboutPhilosophy.org,

Rbth. “All you ever wanted to know about Dostoevsky.” Russia Beyond, 11 Nov. 2013,

Morson, Gary Saul. “Fyodor Dostoyevsky.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 27 Apr. 2017,

Absurdism

Identification 

Absurdism is the philosophical school of thought that states that the human search for inherent meaning in life is absurd because it is impossible. The concept originates in the work of the 19^th century Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, but is famously associated with 20^th century French writer and philosopher, Albert Camus. The word, absurd, stems both from Middle French and Latin, bearing a closer relation in this context to the 16^th century Latin origin, absurdus, meaning “out of tune” and “discordant.” This aligns with Camus’ definition of the feeling of absurdity that he wrote on page 17 of his essay, The Myth of Sisyphus: “the divorce between the mind that desires and world that disappoints.” The disconnect between the human desire for meaning and order and the irrational world brings about the feeling of the absurd.

Historical Significance

Absurdism developed from and alongside 20^th century existentialism and nihilism, providing a sort of middle ground between the certainty of existentialism and the despair of nihilism. During and following the Second World War, wherein families had sent their young men into battles that they did not fully understand, the irrational nature of the world was revealed.  In addition, the cruelty of the world was illuminated in such events as the Holocaust and the torture of prisoners. It brought about a climate in which God felt far and it confronted the human craving for reason, allowing people to feel the absurd. This climate of absurdity can be seen in the Theatre of the Absurd, mid-century plays such as Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, which expressed the feeling that the life was irrational and devoid of goodness. However, unlike nihilism, absurdism did not end in the despair that no meaning could be found nor called for overly brave calls to action to find meaning like existentialism. Absurdism befit the mood to simply live on, in spite of the terror of war and the devastation of its aftermath. In at least Camus’ version of absurdism, the individual, although they lack order or religion to comfort them, forges on courageously and even happily. It sheds light on the motivation that those emerging from the tragedy of the War faced. As well, it shows the way in which those, since the Enlightenment, who have departed from religion in an effort to modernize and thus secularize have lived. In knowing of a way of life wherein the world’s irrationality without God is embraced and lived through, today’s contemporary secularity and spreading atheism can thrive.

Key Historical Proponents

Kierkegaard and Camus are the key proponents of absurdism. Both rooted their work in Nietzsche’s pronouncement that “God is dead”–the absurd exists in the absence of God–but took different approaches in dealing with that. Kierkegaard lived in the “golden age” of intellectual and artistic activity, but he himself hardly left his hometown of Copenhagen and was concerned with revitalizing the Christian faith. He believed that we cannot have faith by virtue of reason but by virtue of the absurd; he writes in Fear and Trembling that Abraham does not have to sacrifice his son by virtue of the absurd (instead of on account of his faith). As such, his response to the absurd is taking a leap of faith. His figure of the knight of faith precedes Camus’ Sisyphus as one who indulges confidently and even happily in impossible and distressing tasks. However, Camus scorned Kierkegaard’s leap of faith. He moved to occupied Paris from Algeria in 1940 and there continued writing The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus, both of which were published in 1942. In this time and space, there existed for Camus’ writings on the absurdity of life a perfect and fitting audience. This led to Camus receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957 for “illuminat[ing] the problem of the human conscience in our time.” He believed that the absurd should be met with a courageous embrace and joy in knowing that one is the master of their own fate.

Rya Buckley

 

Bibliography

“Absurd,” Online Etymology Dictionary. Accessed October 11, 2017. http://www.etymonline.com/word/absurd.

Aronson, Ronald. “Albert Camus,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Last modified April 10, 2017. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/camus/#SuiAbsHapMytSis.

Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays. Translated by Justin O’Brien, 1-24. New York: Vintage Books, 1991.

McDonald, William. “Søren Kierkegaard”, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Last modified July 8, 2016. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kierkegaard/.

Simpson, David. “Albert Camus (1913-1960).” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, accessed October 14, http://www.iep.utm.edu/camus/#SSH5ci.

Skrimshire, Stefan. “A Political Theology of the Absurd? Albert Camus and Simone Weil on Social Transformation.” Literature and Theology 20, no. 3 (September 2006) : 286-300, accessed October 14, 2017, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23927360.

Sringley, Ronald D. “Albert Camus’ Critique of Modernity.” Ph.D. thesis, McMaster University, 2008.