Discernment of Good and Evil in Dostoevsky’s Novels: The Madman and the Saint

Christoph Schneider

doi:10.24204/ejpr.v12i4.3519

Discernment of Good and Evil in Dostoevsky’s Novels: The Madman and the Saint

European Journal for Philosophy of Religion ◽

10.24204/ejpr.v12i4.3519 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 117

Author(s):

Christoph Schneider

Keyword(s):

Moral Agent ◽

Good Person ◽

Space And Time ◽

Moral Universe ◽

Good And Evil

This article discusses madness and saintliness in Dostoevsky’s novels and investigates how the madman and the saint discern between good and evil. I first explore the metaphysical, spiritual, and moral universe of Dostoevsky’s characters by drawing on William Desmond’s philosophy of the between. Second, I argue that the madman’s misconstrual of reality can be grasped as an idolatrous, divisive, and parodic imitation of the good (Raskolnikov, Stavrogin, Kirillov). Third, I reflect on disembodied discernment. In some cases, due to the weakness of the moral agent, the good cannot be properly embodied in space and time, even if a person exhibits ethically sound discernment (Prince Myshkin). Fourth, I look at examples of holy discernment and examine how, through love, the genuinely good person is able to transform idolatry into a universal and cosmic sacramentalism (Elder Zosima, Alyosha).

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The Reality of Moral Imperatives in Liberal Religion

Journal of Law and Religion ◽

10.1017/s0748081400000059 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 297-335

Author(s):

Howard Lesnick

Keyword(s):

Ideal World ◽

Liberal Religion ◽

The World ◽

Moral Universe ◽

Child Subject ◽

Good And Evil ◽

The Ideal

God has made man with the instinctive love of justice in him,which gradually gets developed in the world …. I do not pretendto understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eyereaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and completethe figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience.And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.Theodore Parker (1853)A strange mystery it is that Nature, omnipotent but blind, in therevolutions of her … hurryings through the abysses of space, hasbrought forth at last a child, subject still to her power, but giftedwith sight, with knowledge of good and evil, with the capacity ofjudging all the works of his unthinking mother. [Gradually, asmorality grows bolder, the claim of the ideal world begins to befelt, [giving rise to the claim] that, in some hidden manner, theworld of fact is really harmonious with the world of ideals. Thusman creates God, all-powerful and all-good, the mystic unity ofwhat is and what should be.

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Die politiek van die mens-hondverhouding in Op ’n dag, ’n hond van John Miles

Literator ◽

10.4102/lit.v39i1.1427 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 39 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Adéle Nel

Keyword(s):

Human Life ◽

Moral Agent ◽

Theoretical Framework ◽

Nonhuman Animal ◽

The Novel ◽

The Past ◽

Good And Evil ◽

The Way

The politics of the human-dog relationship in Op ’n dag, ’n hond by John Miles. This article investigates the way in which the human-dog relationship is presented in the novel Op ’n dag, ’n hond by John Miles. The premise of this article is that the novel can be read within the theoretical framework of Posthumanism, in which the embodied communalities of humans and animals (dogs) are emphasised. Despite the differences between the human and nonhuman animal, it is possible to constitute relationality, based on their shared physical mortality. The investigation will focus on the visual paradigm of the novel: the reciprocal view between dog and human, human and dog, which contradicts anthropocentricism and establishes an intersubjective relationship. The dog as guide embodies a moral agent that causes the teacher to look downward, into the underworld, as well as backward to the past. This, in turn, foregrounds the issues of loyalty and betrayal, and the balance between good and evil in a human life.

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Nature of Evil in Macbeth

Arts Faculty Journal ◽

10.3329/afj.v4i0.12940 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 185-194 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Md Saiful Islam

Keyword(s):

The State ◽

Natural Order ◽

Good Person ◽

Physical Universe ◽

The Arts ◽

The Family ◽

Exterior Form ◽

Lady Macbeth ◽

The One ◽

Good And Evil

It is a statement of evil (Knight 18). The Whole play may be writ down as a wrestling of destruction with creation (Knight 140). It contains the decisive orientation of Shakespearean good and evil (Traversi 86). The above statements serve to prove that Macbeth is Shakespeares most profound and mature vision of evil. In this play, Shakespeare presents the overspreading influence of evil over the guilty and ambitious minds which lead them to commit the most treacherous villainy that affect not only the man and the state, but the family and the physical universe as well. But this evil is not the one that finally triumphs, Shakespeare in this play also provides the essential morality and courage which in their progression defeat the evil and restore the natural order of things. This paper endeavors to present the various viewpoints from which this evil can be interpreted. It shows how Shakespeare has depicted the transformation of a good person to a ghastly figure. The effect of evil in Lady Macbeth is also analyzed. The paper also tries to examine whether this evil is purely psychological or has an exterior form. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/afj.v4i0.12940 The Arts Faculty Journal Vol.4 July 2010-June 2011 pp.185-194

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To Be Immortal, Do Good or Evil

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ◽

10.1177/0146167217754068 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 44 (6) ◽

pp. 868-880 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kurt Gray ◽

Stephen Anderson ◽

Cameron M. Doyle ◽

Neil Hester ◽

Peter Schmitt ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Location ◽

Space And Time ◽

Evil Spirits ◽

Good And Evil

Many people believe in immortality, but who is perceived to live on and how exactly do they live on? Seven studies reveal that good- and evil-doers are perceived to possess more immortality—albeit different kinds. Good-doers have “transcendent” immortality, with their souls persisting beyond space and time; evil-doers have “trapped” immortality, with their souls persisting on Earth, bound to a physical location. Studies 1 to 4 reveal bidirectional links between perceptions of morality and type of immortality. Studies 5 to 7 reveal how these links explain paranormal perceptions. People generally tie paranormal events to evil spirits (Study 5), but this depends upon location: Evil spirits are perceived to haunt houses and dense forests, whereas good spirits are perceived in expansive locations such as mountaintops (Study 6). However, even good spirits may be seen as trapped on Earth given extenuating circumstances (Study 7). Materials include a scale for measuring trapped and transcendent immorality.

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Virtue and Duty in Thomas Reid’s Moral Philosophy

Ethical Thought ◽

10.21146/2074-4870-2021-21-1-106-121 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 106-121

Author(s):

Olga V. Artemyeva ◽

Keyword(s):

Early Modern ◽

Human Nature ◽

Moral Philosophy ◽

Moral Obligation ◽

Moral Agent ◽

Necessary Condition ◽

Good And Evil ◽

Moral Motive

Based on the material of T. Reid’s ethical conception, it is shown that in the moral-philosophical teaching, built around the concepts of duty, obligation, the concept of virtue also retains its significance. Although Reid consciously conceptualizes morality through norms and duties, the concept of virtue plays an important role in his teaching. Without virtue, it is impossible to achieve two ends specific to human nature – the individual’s own good on the whole and what appears to be our duty. Reid shows that the person’s virtue coincides with her good on the whole, or happiness. This goal, however, can only be achieved when a human being combines it with the fulfillment of duty for duty’s sake rather than for self-interest. In connection with the principle of respect for duty, Reid sees the role of virtue in that it is a necessary condition for the fulfillment of duty and of moral obligation. It is virtue as a quality of the moral agent, manifested in his power to distinguish between good and evil, to make judgments concerning one’s own duty and to act according to one’s understanding-conviction, that makes the act performed virtuous and proper through the motive. Through the concept of virtue Reed grasps the idea, important to Early Modern ethics, that every duty is internally binding through a moral motive.

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