CC BY
12
THE PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT OF FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY IN THE KARAMAZOV
BROTHERS Luong T.T.H.1, Ngo T.H.2
1Luong Thi Thu Huong - PhD in Philosophy, lecturer, FACULTY OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIETNAM, HANOI,
2Ngo Thi Huong - Postgraduate student, VIETNAM BUDDHIST UNIVERSITY IN HOCHIMINH CITY, HOCHIMINH, SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Abstract: Fyodor Mikhailovitch Dostoevsky (F. Dostoevsky) was a great writer, philosopher, and psychologist of nineteenth-century Russia. His works are in a realistic style, depicting the status of Russians, Russia, Russian religion. He has many famous works such as: Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, The Brothers Karamazov. Among them, The Brothers Karamazov is the most creative work of Fyodor Dostoevsky, as well as the last masterpiece completed before his death three months later. Through this masterpiece, the philosophical thought of F. Dostoevsky was also clearly revealed. The article summarizes the historical context and generalizes the philosophical thought F. Dostoevsky portrayed in The Brothers Karamazov. Keywords: F. Dostoevsky, philosophy, Karamazov Brothers
ФИЛОСОФСКАЯ МЫСЛЬ ФЕДОРА ДОСТОЕВСКОГО В БРАТЬЯХ КАРАМАЗОВЫХ
Лыонг Т.Т.Х.1, Нго Т.Х.2
1Лыонг Тхи Тху Хыонг - кандидат философских наук, преподаватель, Факультет международной коммуникации и культуры Дипломатическая академия Вьетнама, г. Ханой, 2Нго Тхи Хыонг - Аспирант, Вьетнамский буддийский университет в Хошимине, г. Хошимин, Социалистическая Республика Вьетнам
Аннотация: Федор Михайлович Достоевский (Ф. Достоевский) был великим писателем, философом и психологом России девятнадцатого века. Его работы написаны в реалистическом стиле, изображая положение русских, Россию, русскую религию. У него есть много известных работ, таких как: Записки из подполья, Преступление и наказание, Идиот, Бесы, Братья Карамазовы. Среди них «Братья Карамазовы» — самое творческое произведение Федора Достоевского, а также последний шедевр, завершенный перед его смертью три месяца спустя. Через этот шедевр также ясно раскрылась философская мысль Ф. Достоевского. Статья суммирует исторический контекст и обобщает философскую мысль Ф. Достоевского, изображенную в «Братьях Карамазовых». Ключевые слова: Ф. Достоевский, философия, Братья Карамазовы.
Introduction
F. Dostoevsky, one of the most distinguished writers, thinkers, and philosophers of the early modern period, is considered one of the two great Russian writers of the second half of the nineteenth century, along with Lev Tolstoy.
Practice shows that the upheavals in family, society, economy, politics, and religions are important factors affecting the shaping of the thoughts and pen of writers, philosophers, F. Dostoevsky is no exception. As every writer and thinker before and at the same time, F. Dostoevsky was much influenced by the era to which he belonged.
Within the scope of this article, we generalize the family background and career of F. Dostoevsky, in turn, gives the most succinct summaries of his philosophical thought expressed in his masterpiece, The Brothers Karamazov. 1. Overview of F. Dostoevsky's family and career 1.1. The beginning and turning point in life
F. Dostoevsky's full name was Fyodor Mikhailovitch (Michailovitch) Dostoevsky (Dostoyevsky/Dostoievsky). F. Dostoevsky was born on October 30, 1821 on the outskirts of Moscow into a Christian family. F. Dostoevsky's parents were Mikhail Andreevitch and Maria Feodorovna Dostoevsky. He was the second son of seven brothers. He had two wives and four children.
As a child, F. Dostoevsky was often shared by his pious father about the Bible, Russian history and classical literature. As a result, F. Dostoevsky's literary talent was soon nurtured.
Since 1845, Russian literature has honored F. Dostoevsky for his contributions. Works such as Poor Folk (1845), The Double (1846), White Nights (1848) were highly appreciated for both honestly reflecting the problems of Russian people and contemporary society and being lyrical, romantic and dreamy.
From 1849 to 1854, F. Dostoevsky was incarcerated in a Siberian prison. This period helped F. Dostoevsky be more mature in perception. Besides the negative images, such as corporal punishment, torture, mourning, F. Dostoevsky also directly felt the optimism and love for life of his inmates, especially the love of God and the church. It was his experience of observation and experience that enabled F. Dostoevsky understand Russian people in particular and people in general more deeply and subtly. The practical lessons at the Siberian prison have become a valuable composition material of F. Dostoevsky later.
From 1855 to 1859, F. Dostoevsky was released from prison, but he was required to serve in the regiment stationed at Semipalatinks (now in Kazakhstan) for a few more years. The years in the military gave F. Dostoevsky the opportunity to see the dark sides of the country's politics as well as the dangers of Western philosophical thought more clearly. Thanks to the friction of the adversity happening in the military environment, F. Dostoevsky's ability to identify and understand the potential and complex issues of the human soul was sharper and more acute. This makes F. Dostoevsky highly regarded for his analysis of human psychology in his works [2].
1.2. Dedication to composing career
Since 1859, F. Dostoevsky had returned to Saint Petersburg and concentrated on composing. The works of F. Dostoevsky in this period not only reflected the reality of life, people, country, religion ... but also described and exposed the disordered and complex inner nature of people with full range of emotions: sadness, joy, hate, love, hatred, etc. More importantly, the relationship between man and God was deeply and specificly illustrated by F. Dostoevsky in the era he belonged. Therefore, the worldview and human view of F. Dostoevsky became the subject of many studies.
Besides hundreds of short stories and articles, F. Dostoevsky devoted his talents to Russian literature in particular and world literature in general with valuable and meaningful works during the last twenty years of his life. Many of his works have been translated into many languages around the world, such as,
The Insulted and Humiliated, published in 1861.
The House of the Dead, published in 1862.
Notes from Underground, published in 1864.
Crime and Punishment, published in 1866.
The Gambler, published in 1867.
The Idiot, published in 1868.
The Possessed, published in 1872.
The Brothers Karamazov, 1880. This work is considered the masterpiece of F. Dostoevsky, has a great influence on theology, philosophy, psychology, ethics, literature, etc.
March 1881, F. Dostoevsky passed away in Saint Petersburg, closing his dedicated life to Russian literature and philosophy in particular and the world in general.
2. Overview of F. Dostoevsky's philosophical thought in The Brothers Karamazov
2.1. Summary of the Brothers Karamazov
Published in 1879 - 1880, The Brothers Karamazov sketched a comprehensive picture of the Russian people's tragedy: from the decline of material life to the collapse of spiritual life, from not believing in the external environment to losing faith in oneself, from malice to sexual satisfaction to cruelty to animal satisfaction, from strange murder to murder of the father, from killing man to killing God.
The work revolves around the tragedy of the family of five members, father Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov; three official children Dmitri, Ivan, Alyosha and the unrecognized son, Smerdyakov. For various reasons, all four children wished for their father to be killed. Throughout the work, F. Dostoevsky described and exposed the painful and torn feelings of his four children when they failed to delineate the boundaries of good and evil before and while taking the father's life. However, after the death of the father, each son, realized their crimes and had to suffer the consequences corresponding to different levels of desire and actions to kill the father. Dmitri was sentenced to hard labor by the state for murder while he only threatened to kill his father but did not carry it out. Smerdyakov took his own life because he fell into the ultimate crisis after directly killing his father. Ivan became hysterical because he could not bear the consequences after the mastermind killed his father. Alyosha had to dismantle the path of practice, return to secular life because she had violated the precepts of colluding with her brothers to kill her father.
By letting each child face and talk to their own crimes, F. Dostoevsky conveyed two messages that were still valid for the time. First, any person has two parts - good - evil in the soul. Denying the evil part or not recognizing the good part is all human error. Secondly, the court of conscience is the coldest and harshest court in the face of human crime. The judgment of the state may be unjust and the state shall pronounce the expiry of the sentence, while the sentence of conscience is always fair and the expiry of the sentence is decided by the executioner himself.
The Brothers Karamazov not only deters people from the harm of the process of arising evil, doing evil, knowing evil, seeing evil, understanding evil acts and receiving consequences but also educates practical methods to transform evil. Loving of people, directing people to appreciate life has always been F. Dostoevsky's wish.
2.2. F. Dostoevsky's worldview and human perspective in The Brothers Karamazov
Through the works of F. Dostoevsky as well as the documents recorded by him in the two works Letters of F. Dostoevsky wrote to friends and family [1] and the Writer's Diary, which could recognize F. 's philosophical thought. Dostoevsky has changed according to the fluctuations and events of the Russian nation in general and himself in particular. In the end-of-life work, The Brothers Karamazov, the view of the world and of people is F. Dostoevsky reflects deeply and comprehensively on the following issues._
Philosophical issues F. Dostoevsky's views
Worldview stance Consciousness determines matter [3, p. 351]. A sense of movement and change determines the outside world [3, p. 189].
Source There must be a God [3, p. 630]. God is love [3, p. 177]. God did not create the earth. The Earth has now grown and repeated billions of times, it dies, freezes, cracks, shatters into debris, decays into how its original constituent element, water in the sky, comets, sun, earth, etc [3, p. 683].
The relationship between Christ and man When people practice a life of holiness, peace, and happiness for themselves and others, they have the ability to commune with God, becoming Christ [3, p. 688]. Conversely, when humans create evil, causing suffering, harm and destruction to themselves and others, humans have consorted with demons, becoming demons. Thus, each person experiences the angel or devil that dwells in his soul.
The relationship between heaven and hell Life is both heaven and hell. Heaven or hell created by man himself [3, p. 344]. Heaven is hidden within each person [3, p. 329]. Each person will open the door of heaven when he openly speaks of sin [3, p. 335], when he is forgiven of sin by all things [3, p. 315], when man knows how to love all people and all beings [3, p. 314]. Conversely, life will become hell -where there is only suffering when people can no longer love [3, p. 350].
Russia's destiny Russia will only survive if its leaders are educated and love their people. If Russia is ruled by the landlord and the kulak, it will perish because it will exploit, oppress and destroy the Russian peasantry. Russians need to restore traditional Russian values and return to Russian Orthodoxy - religion that has not undergone revision, like Roman Catholicism for three reasons. Firstly, "even those who reject Christianity and are anti-Christian are still themselves in the image of the God [3, p. 189]." Secondly, "only the people and the people's later spiritual strength can make the lost atheists return to their religion. ... Without the word of God, the people perish, because the hearts of the people yearn for the word of God and for every noble idea" [3, p. 320]. Russia will be saved by God thanks to the people, to the faith and obedience of the people [3, p. 343-343]. Thirdly, Western science "only serves the physical body and the spiritual world is completely rejected... Those who want to rely on science to organize their lives fairly according to their intellects, no longer need Christ, they have declared that there is no crime, no sin [3, p. 340342]. " Moreover, in the freedom of science, "only slaves and suicides" [3, p. 340], for "freedom, free wisdom, and science will thrust them into labyrinths and place them before miracles and unsolvable mysteries so that some of them, the indomitable and the ferocious, will destroy themselves, the indomitable but the weak will destroy eac h other" [3, p. 283].
Human nature Good and bad [3, p. 475]. Each is capable of containing all opposites and gazing simultaneously at both chasms, the chasms above the head - the chasms of lofty ideals, and the chasms below the feet - the chasms of the lowest and most rotten fall [3, p. 737].
The meaning of existence and the value of life The actual life of humans and of all species is the most precious [3, p. 252]. No power, including God, has the right to dispose of life, destroy or take human life.
Life Purpose Live to do good and honest things [3, p. 812]. Live happily as children, as birds of the air [3, p. 347]. Out of the darkness of hatred, reaching out to the light of love [3, p. 24].
The causal relationship between people, between this life and the next life There are invisible cords connecting people [3, p. 788]. Everyone is responsible for everyone and everything [3, p. 324]. By immeasurable, universal love, people will conquer the world and wash away the sins of the world with tears [3, p. 182]. At that time, each person shines on his own and that light can light the way for others, even help the person who wants to do evil stop evil actions [3, p. 349-350]. All things must die. After death, each person will return to being a human being, receiving the fruits of joy and joy depending on the cause they created when they were alive [3, p. 681-682]. Everyone will meet each other again [3, p. 812].
Evident Each individual to the whole Russian society needs to apply and practice "the word of God". However, the word of God is not all that is written in the gospel, for "the gospel and religion are altered" [3, p. 7986]. Instead, the Russian people only believe in what is proved by reason and experience to be right through analysis, in short, acting reasonably, practically benefiting, not harming themselves, destroying people. Thus, the Russian people will act as true, humane and reasonable Christians [3, p. 782].
Crime: causes, ways to prevent and atone for sins Man commit crimes because they are intoxicated with alcohol, talk rough, lust, greed for money, fame, self-deception, deceit, no self-respect, no love, gradually man fall into creating evil because they cultivate bad habits and indulge in crude pleasures [3, p. 51-52]; because people deny God, reject God [3, p. 313]; because man honor science and reason and because man inherit their ideas. In order to prevent the creation of evil, first, man need to discern clearly what is good and what is evil. Each individual needs to cultivate and develop morality through the suspension of intoxicants, not telling lies, avoiding sex and not being greedy for money and property [3, p. 5051]; each family needs to respect, love each other, share work, focus on educating members, especially children, into honest people; Each group should encourage and praise good people, help unhappy and difficult families do not condemn or vilify sinful and evil individuals; do not discriminate, discriminate against rich and poor, educate, do not coerce or force people to follow blind beliefs or beliefs; each society needs to build a healthy, civilized lifestyle, connect the national spirit, "save and restore the corrupt" [3, p. 785], each religion needs to protect the spirit and educate believers in peace holy [3, p. 342]. Secondly, everyone and every house need to give each other sincere love because "love redeems all, saves all, love is a priceless treasure that can buy the whole world, not only atone for one's own sins, but also atone for the sins of others" [3, p. 60-61]. In order to atone for sin, man needs to "suffer to make himself clean" [3, p. 545]. In addition, man can perform charitable works such as caring for and nurturing the elderly, children in nursing centers or orphanages.
The problem of children's suffering Newborn children have suffered as a result of the evils they have caused in the past [5]. On the other hand, children suffering are a consequence of degraded education, from families to schools and society. To explain this, F. Dostoevsky gave an impressive illustration, as if "you pass by a little child whose face is a tunnel, whose defamation, whose heart is full of anger; maybe you don't notice the child but he sees you, and maybe your evil, despicable image will reappear in his little unprotected heart. You don't know it, but maybe you planted a bad seed in it, and then that seed will probably germinate, all because you didn't keep it in front of the children" [3, p. 347].
Conclusion
By listening to people for twenty years, F. Dostoevsky understood the most complex diseases hidden in the human soul [4, p. 34]. He conveyed these insights into a clear and practical philosophical worldview and human life. This world is shaped by its constant movement, God neither created nor governs the world. In that world, peace or chaos, peace or war, good or evil are all created by man himself. Each person also needs to learn to accept his own good and evil nature, no one is all good and no one is all evil. If people have committed crimes, they should not despair or destroy themselves, instead, each person needs to courageously face crimes and atonement.
As can be seen, the thing F. Dostoevsky thought about the world, about people who had a dynamic and positive meaning not only for the era he belonged to but also spread to today. The practicality and thoroughness of F. Dostoevsky earned him the title of philosopher despite F. Dostoevsky 's background and career as a writer.
References / Список литературы
1. Dostoevsky M.F. Letters of F. Dostoevsky wrote to friends and family. Translated by Ethel Golburn Mayne. London: Chatto & Windus, 1917.
2. Dostoevsky M.F. Notes from Underground. Translated by Vu Ngoc Phan. Hanoi: Literature Publishing House, 1990.
3. Dostoevsky M.F. The Brothers Karamazov. Translated by Pham Manh Hung. Hanoi: Nha Nam, 2021.
4. Dostoevsky M.F. The Diary of a writer. Translated by Brasol B. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1919.
5. Thang Phap practice essay. Translated and solved by Thich Minh Chau. Hanoi: Religion Publishing House, 1973.
