Analysis Of Crime And Punishment By Dostoevsky

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Theodicy-the defence of God’s goodness and omnipotence in the face of the existence of evil-is an extremely controversial concept that oftentimes questions God’s true purpose. For Dostoevsky, a philosopher and novelist of the mid to late 1800’s, evil is the result of primal human instinct and pride; it is concrete and its origination can be directly pointed to. Although Dostoevsky recounts his own personal struggle with living amidst such great suffering in the world, he ultimately comes to the realization that man must embrace suffering and the darkness of one’s soul in order to become fully human and reach a greater understanding. As he claims in his novel Crime and Punishment, “Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence …show more content…

Moreover, he believes that suffering and evil can not be blamed on God, but rather on the free will of man. Ever since the first sin of Adam and Eve, free will has caused suffering. Thus, the mere existence of atrocities and discrimination in the world means that every man is complicit to the suffering and evil of others. Because of this, Dostoevsky demands that men take action to prevent all the suffering within their power. Through Dostoevsky’s personal experience with suffering and Orthodox Christian beliefs, he sufficiently answers the question of theodicy as the necessity of suffering for the realization of human redemption, along with the role of Christ’s atonement and human compassion in justifying and combating …show more content…

Ivan’s belief that man should kill himself may make sense through rational deduction, but is not truly applicable to real world situations. It is a shared belief throughout society that suicide is considered a tragedy and the loss of a precious life. When a person commits suicide it drastically increases the suffering and pain of loved ones, rather than absolving it. Having the love and compassion of another person is what makes life so special, and religions that bring man closer to God would not be possible without man working together as a collective whole. Through Dostoevsky’s analysis, humans are all capable of causing suffering because we are innately evil, but humans are also capable of lessening it. He demands humans forgive one another, not through “laceration”, but to protect both the victim and abuser because every man has the darkness in his soul that is capable of the same evil. If man were to kill himself, it would not lessen the suffering that exists. Only through acts of active love that are subservient to God and work for the betterment of man. Dostoevsky believes that complete free will leads to the idea that “everything is lawful”, he says you can neither

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