Dostoevsky's Distinctive Thinking About Evil And Freedom

There are such a series of characters in Dostoevsky's works, whose lives are full of suffering, angst and fierce clash between passions and thoughts. Also, their experiences of survival are out of the common. We can feel that Dostoevsky embodies his profound thinking about philosophy and religion in them. Of the entire proposition, evil and freedom contain unique connotations, and that's what I want to discuss in this thesis. The exposition needs the analysis of the characters mentioned above, so I choose three of them----Raskolnikov, Stavrogin and Ivan, who are extremely representative.In the first chapter, thoughts and experiences of them are given and we can regard them as the artistic presentences about evil and freedom in Dostoevsky's works. Raskolnikov committed homicide, while in his view some people, for example, he himself, are given the right to kill others, also the freedom. Stavrogin indulges his free will aimless with the hope of trying everything, including evil. While Kirillov, deeply influenced by him, considers that his own free will can replace God. Ivan refuses the harmonious world for no other reason than that the world is full of evil. Also, he gives up the right of owning of freedom, willing to submit to the authority of ruling because the pursuit of freedom is accompanied by pain.Then this chapter focus on the concert illumination on Dostoevsky's distinctive thinking about evil and freedom, by means of analysis of the three characters'ending. The freedom of homicide what Raskolnikov has claimed denies freedom actually and he gets self-negative at the same time. However, one can shrive himself by the inner divinity got from God. Stavrogin's addicting himself to the temptation of freedom gives him nihility and Kirillov doesn't consider people's free will as the gift from God. The deviating from the inner divinity leads to their ruin. Ivan is a strong advocate of returning evil for evil, however, that's just the yield on the crime. Nothing but the mercy of Jesus Christ guide people to supreme good. About freedom, Dostoevsky definitely holds the view that it is born with the pain accompany.The last chapter summarizes the origins of Dostoevsky's ideas and unique connotation contained. Spiritual freedom and the great virtues of humility and tolerance are the nature of the Russian nation and that's why the Russian people have mental coincidence with the Orthodox. Yet, Dostoevsky hits off the Russian nation's fate with amazing insight on the basis of that enormous spiritual freedom have an innate tendency toward evil. Having been sent into exile, Dostoevsky lived with criminals in a few years. With this experience he has a deeper understanding of the evil in human nature. The above-mentioned are the origins of Dostoevsky's thoughts. On the unique content, the most prominent is his thinking highly of the people's value, including two aspects. One is that he doesn't regard people's choices of evil as the nature of us. Second and the most profound is that Dostoevsky firmly believes the people's initiative when they respond the call from God and that means everyone has the divinity which can guide them to God step by step.