Nihilism, Dostoevskiy, "The Idiot"

Tuesday. July 10, 2018 - 10 mins

Nihilism

Before going into the analyses of the book, I would like to share the new perspective I have gained about the world’s philosophy, when I was introduced to the word “nihilism”. In Wikipedia its stated that “Nihilism is the philosophical viewpoint that suggests the denial or lack of belief towards the reputedly meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism, which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value.” While, this explanation made the boarder between nihilsm and existentialism very vogue. Due to this article I was able to differentiate them.

Existentialism - is the belief that through a combination of awareness, free will, and personal responsibility, one can construct their own meaning within a world that intrinsically has none of its own.

Nihilism - is the belief that not only is there no intrinsic meaning in the universe, but that it’s pointless to try to construct our own as a substitute.

I wanted to make a list of famous Nihilists still most of the ones I wanted to mention were already listed as existentialists. (Must explore the difference further to understand Why)

Absurdism - is the belief that a search for meaning is inherently in conflict with the actual lack of meaning, but that one should both accept this and simultaneously rebel against it by embracing what life has to offer.

Superior Existentialists(Dane Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) was a theologian, German Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) an anti-establishment wandering academic, Czech Franz Kafka (1883–1924) a short story writer and factory manager, and Russian Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) a novelist, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre etc. ) * I wanted to make a list of famous nihilists and absurdists still most of the ones I wanted to mention were already listed as existentialists.(Must explore the difference further to understand Why)

Interesting Facts about Fyodor Dostoevsky

Dostoevsky’s literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of realistic philosophical and religious themes.

worked as an engineer and briefly enjoyed a lavish lifestyle
spent four years in a Siberian prison camp
began to travel around western Europe and developed a gambling addiction
kept Russian Orthodox beliefs

Sources:

Source1 Source2

The Idiot

This is the first novel I have read from Dostoevskiy. I am amazed by the tone that he is using to describe P. Myshkin. I fell in love with that character within the first pages. The character encapsulating all the factors converging to the ideal one. His transparency, analytical thinking, humbleness, intelligence and the deepness could not help me not to fall in love with him. (In the beginning I was really enjoying the “maybe”-s he was using very frequently in his sentences). I have finished the novel 30 minutes ago and I am sitting with a complete mess in my mind, having a lot of questions that I can not find the answers to.
Myshkin was the character I was searching in me for very long, and when it seemes to me that I have converged to the consciousness and self-purpose I have started reading this book. And the analogues that I was observing through inrospecting my ideal self and Myshkin’s character were mind blowing. Those made me to enjoy the novel more.

This is certainly one of the greatest novels I have read!

Favourite parts (translated from the Russian version, therefore may diverge a little from the original)

There are those people very common in a socium that know everything, but their everything is truly constrained.
Education, intelligence and talent have made the Yepanchin’s girls quite unique. They read a lot, still were not yet interested in getting married.
My time is wholy mine. (-Myshkin)
Himself, his tranquility and comfort he loved and appreciated more than anything else in the world, this was a sign of a higly intelligent(poryadochni) man.
He was talking with a naked straightforwardness.
I have been always happy there. I was going to bad happy and was waking up happier.
Firstly I was thinking that the cities I live in influence my happiness, then I have realized that even in the prison You can find a great life.
Sometimes I speak like I am teaching, but I know that I know the least possible about life.
You do not need to hide something from children, justifying that they are small or too small to understand. They have a lot to teach us.
There is one thing I know for sure I do not like to spend time with the old, I am always failing with them. If I have a choice I always try to choose children. I am becomming extremely happy with them.
I could never understand how and why people are becomming miserable?
The dumb with a heart and no brain, is equally unhappy as the dumb with the brain and no heart. (- Maman)

This has reminded be about the misunderstanding I have about always referring to love as heart and not brain (Why?)

This “Idiot” has this ability to grasp everything quickly and analytically.
Myshkin notices things that no one else could have noticed.
There is nothing more abusing(frustrating) to a person, than saying that he/she is not original, in other words is common.
The core is in a beauty, intelligence and determination …
Russian parents are diverging from honesty and humblness. For ex. one of the parents was urging his child to overcome any obstacle in order to earn money.
He was one of those people: humble, honest, who transparently and consciously wants healthy staff. (very hard working and will always find a job)
The design of Your house vividely encapsulates the temperament of all of Your family members.
Even though he is a scientist, he is very humble and communicates with me as to an equall.
Grateful and honest person is the same as the conscious person.
Before the Switzerland I was also unable to organize and intelligently state my ideas . This reminds me once again how important the nurture is. How the new experience can exponentially impact the intelligence.
I want to live for a hapiness of all the others, for the exploration and for converging and raising the truth.
Omg, Myshkin how SwissLike You still think!
You must be ashamed, those are Your purest emotions and You are hiding them.
The only original and the dynamic people are capable of not becoming a Chinovnik. (p. 341)
Some stupidity must be common in all of those businessman.
The Russian originals are: Lomonosov, Pushkin and Gogol. They are the only once who could have genuinely present their own unique ideas.
You have taken a specific case and have generalized it, consequantly You are misleading!
The heaven on earth is not easily found, but Your honest mind still searches it.
The loser is the one who is afraid and is escaping, the one who is afraid and is stayinng is not a loser.
He was always getting sad at the times when he was extremely happy.
The mankind is becomming very noisy and organized, there is a lack of the harmony in our souls.
Who is faulty about their unhappiness and poorness than themself? (I have proved him that he is the reason of his poorness.)
All the people, except the Myshkin do not appreciate life as much as they should, they are cheaply consuming it, very lazily and unconsciously, therefore they do not deserve it.
Doing good , in any form, You are giving a part of Your identity and accepting the part from the other side. In this way You are becomming a whole, a little bit more attention and You are already gifted with a new knowledge (dimension). At some point You will start looking at this activity as on science, it will take and at the same time fill all of Your life.
I do not want to go to their balls, I want to bring good.
I want to have at least one person with whom I can talk, as to myself.
When God wants to punish, he brightens our consciousness.
You cant love perfection, You can just watch it, right? Still, I am in love with You.
I think the common thing in those mediocre people is that they can not find what exactly they need to explore and what they would want to explore.
I hate You as You are the encapsulation of the ordinary.
How childish we are , and that feels so good!
People nowadays, are more nervous, devloped, sensitive and multidimensional. They are broader, and it may bother them.
How I need to die? Пройдите мимо нас и простите нам наше счастьe
His charisma of flowless manners, simplicity and pure heart was near magical.
Atheism is proposing null, while Catholism is worse as it goes beyond that, it’s proposing the opposite of Christ the Anti Christ.
In order to reach perfection, firstly You need to misunderstand a lot of things
I cant understand how You can pass a tree and not be excited that You have passed it? Talk to a person and not be excited that You love him! Look(observe) the child, the sunrise, the growth of the green, observe the eyes that are looking at You and that love You.
Not being surprised is a sign of a great mind, while I think it could have applied to dumbs also.
There are cases that You are allowed to burn ships , leave home. Life is not just about breakfasts, lunches and princes.
What You know about my current being, to judge me?
I was loving her through all the factors! “Love has factors” approved :)
What has started with a lie, must end with a lie, that’s a law of nature.
I love both of them!
Free will and the money makes us different from other animals.
He considered his wedding a formality, he was poorly appreciating his own destiny.