Notes from the Underground is a novel written by Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. In this book, Dostoyevsky illustrated his ideals through the words of his literary protagonist, the Underground Man. The Underground Man strikes the readers as a person
, and one of the things that he abhors was the way in which progressive thinkers of his era worship reason. This was amusing because at the same time, he does not entirely reject reason. From analyzing the text, it is apparent that the Underground Man values reason, but he also sees it as incomplete and an underestimation of the power of free will.
The Underground Man’s
is not extreme, but quite moderate, because he does see values in reason, and he constantly exhibit logical thinking in his words. For instance, he emphasizes his role as an intellectual multiple times, and he often scorns the “stupid” for not thinking logically. He said, “I exercise myself in
every primary cause at once draws after itself another still more primary, and so on to infinity.” (Dostoyevsky, 12) This explanation of his way of thinking clearly illustrated logic and reason. Furthermore, he admits the importance of reason: “You see, gentlemen, reason is an excellent thing, there is no disputing that, […]” (Dostoyevsky, 19) As an
criticize of reason, he did not bluntly reject it. Then, he also said “Choice can, of course, if it chooses, be in agreement with reason; and especially if this be not abused by kept
within bounds. It is profitable and sometimes even praiseworthy.” (Dostoyevsky, 20) In this quote, the Underground Man said reason can be beneficial, if it can compromise with the other part of human nature, choice. In short, the Underground Man sees reason as necessary
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...hing to him. In another quote, the Underground Man summarizes the power of free will in an excited tone, “for the whole work of man really seems to consist in nothing but proving to himself every minute that he is a man and not a piano-key!” (Dostoyevsky, 21) This comment means because man do things that is against his advantage every day, he is proving to himself that he is a man, who has the power of choice, unlike a piano key, which is controlled by the laws of nature.
In Notes From the Underground, Fyodor Dostoyevsky offered readers a psychological and philosophical view of one of the most interesting and reflective protagonist of all times. As one the most main topics, the Underground Man was quite detailed and personal in his view toward reason and
the underestimation of the power of free choice, and lastly, a deep worry about the destruction of freedom.
One man never gets to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes from doing things by or for himself. All will have been done collectively for him, thus something fundamental is missing from his life. This can be likened to the pride Equality 7-2521 feels after hunting and preparing his own food in the forest (Rand, 1946, p. 63). He finds happiness in doing things for himself. This idea can be found in many instances, such as while he is studying in the tunnel (Rand, 1946, p. 30). The invention he makes there becomes so important to him that he is willing to be beaten and later leave everything behind in order to protect it, and such is a testament to his desire for independence and strides toward acting on his own
Hansen, Bruce. “Dostoevsky’s Theodicy.” Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1996. At . accessed 18 November 2001.
Dostoyevsky's writing in this book is such that the characters and setting around the main subject, Raskolnikov, are used with powerful consequences. The setting is both symbolic and has a power that affects all whom reside there, most notably Raskolnikov. An effective Structure is also used to show changes to the plot's direction and Raskolnikov's character. To add to this, the author's word choice and imagery are often extremely descriptive, and enhance the impact at every stage of Raskolnikov's changing fortunes and character. All of these features aid in the portrayal of Raskolnikov's downfall and subsequent rise.
A piece of evidence that he gives is that reason cannot be the motive to moral action; if reason can't motivate any action, it ultimately cannot motivate moral
In Notes from Underground, Dostoyevsky relates the viewpoints and doings of a very peculiar man. The man is peculiar because of his lack of self-respect, his sadistic and masochistic tendencies, and his horrible delight in inflicting emotional pain on himself and others. Almost instantly the reader is forced to hate this man. He has no redeeming values, all of his insights into human nature are ghastly, and once he begins the narrative of his life, the reader begins to actively hate and pity him.
A piece of evidence that he gives is that reason cannot be the motive to moral action; if reason doesn't have the ability to motivate any sort of action, it ultimately cannot motivate moral
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment begins with Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov living in poverty and isolation in St. Petersburg. The reader soon learns that he was, until somewhat recently, a successful student at the local university. His character at that point was not uncommon. However, the environment of the grim and individualistic city eventually encourages Raskolnikov’s undeveloped detachment and sense of superiority to its current state of desperation. This state is worsening when Raskolnikov visits an old pawnbroker to sell a watch. During the visit, the reader slowly realizes that Raskolnikov plans to murder the woman with his superiority as a justification. After the Raskolnikov commits the murder, the novel deeply explores his psychology, yet it also touches on countless other topics including nihilism, the idea of a “superman,” and the value of human life. In this way, the greatness of Crime and Punishment comes not just from its examination of the main topic of the psychology of isolation and murder, but the variety topics which naturally arise in the discussion.
Dostoyevsky's characters are very similar, as is his stories. He puts a strong stress on the estrangement and isolation his characters feel. His characters are both brilliant and "sick" as mentioned in each novel, poisoned by their intelligence. In Notes from the Underground, the character, who is never given a name, writes his journal from solitude. He is spoiled by his intelligence, giving him a fierce conceit with which he lashes out at the world and justifies the malicious things he does. At the same time, though, he speaks of the doubt he feels at the value of human thought and purpose and later, of human life. He believes that intelligence, to be constantly questioning and "faithless(ly) drifting" between ideas, is a curse. To be damned to see everything, clearly as a window (and that includes things that aren't meant to be seen, such as the corruption in the world) or constantly seeking the meaning of things elusive. Dostoyevsky thought that humans are evil, destructive and irrational.
Bellow, Saul. "Man Underground" Review of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Commentary. June 1952. 1st December 2001
Nozick (1993), going deeper, advances the view that we accord rationality intrinsic value (over and above its instrumental value), because deciding and believing in a way that is responsive to "the net balance of reasons" has come to form an important part of human identity.
Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes from Underground: A New Translation, Backgrounds and Sources, Responses, Criticism. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1989.
Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Notes from Underground: A New Translation, Backgrounds and Sources, Responses, Criticism. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1989.
The tone of “Notes from Underground” is sharp, strange and bitter. The bitterness of the book is traced to the multiple personal misfortunes the author suffered as he wrote his novel. Through these personal tragedies it can be argued that the author presented the position of the “underground man” through his own experiences. Additionally, the research holds the second belief that the novel’s presentation of “underground man” is founded on the social context the novel addresses (Fanger 3). Through this, it was found that Dostoevsky presented the suffering of man under the emerging world view directed by European materialism, liberalism and utopianism. As he began writing his novel, Dostoevsky had been directed by the romantic error that looked at utopian social life and the social vision of satisfying and perfecting regular life for man. The failure for the society to gain these achievements was as a result of the distant liberalism and materialism that reduced the power of reasoning and...
Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Henrik Ibsen were two famous writers of the nineteenth era who became famous by writing about realism with their masterpieces; Dostoyevsky with the “Notes from Underground” and Ibsen with “Hedda Gabler”. Both works are based on the realistic picture of the whole society, between rich and poor, where their protaonist’s actions are result of social determinism. Social determinism is the theory that describes a person whose behavior is influenced by the society. According to this concept, the characters of “Notes from Underground” the underground man, and “Hedda Gabler” Hedda Tesman, are products of social determinism.
...d around, and the empiricists and rationalists have managed to build and destroy certain views in ways that make my head spin, but Kant’s view will always fascinate me. Not only because he constructs a world that we are not the center of, and he boils reality down to mental conceptions. He makes one wonder about this world of impossibility. He realizes that as human beings we yearn to know and believe, and search for answers to an infinite amount of possibilities, and there is a lot of truth to this. We still search for and ask questions which cannot easily be answered because our reason propels to. As Kant once said “Human reason has this peculiar fate that in one species of its knowledge it is burdened by questions which, as prescribed by the very nature of reason itself, it is not able to ignore,but which, as transcending all its powers also not able to answer.