Dostoevsky's Radical Philosophy of Love

Summary

This video explores Fyodor Dostoevsky's philosophy of love, highlighting its transformative power and potential for redemption. It delves into the dark consequences of lovelessness, the dangers of egoistic love, the sacrifices involved in selfless love, and the ultimate goal of universal love for all humanity.

Takeaways

• 📚 Dostoevsky's works frequently explore the theme of love, presenting it as a complex and essential aspect of the human experience.
• 😔 According to the script, the absence of love can lead to profound suffering, as depicted in 'Notes From The Underground' where the protagonist's life is devoid of affection and ends in misery.
• 🤔 Dostoevsky suggests that love is not just a powerful emotion but an indispensable component of a fulfilling life, without which we are destined to be unhappy.
• 👥 The script highlights the dangers of egoistic love, where individuals seek to control or dominate their partners for their own benefit, often leading to destructive outcomes.
• 💔 In 'Crime and Punishment' and 'The Meek One', Dostoevsky illustrates how possessiveness and jealousy in love can manifest in violence and self-destruction.
• 🔄 The author criticizes the intellectual circles of his time for their condescending attitude towards the Russian peasantry, reflecting a lack of genuine love and respect.
• ❤️ The concept of selfless love is presented as the purest form of affection, where love is given without expectation of return, even in the face of personal suffering.
• 🙏 Dostoevsky's later works emphasize the idea of loving through sacrifice, as seen in characters like Prince Mishkin from 'The Idiot' and Alyosha from 'The Brothers Karamazov'.
• 🌟 The script discusses the idea of 'active love' as opposed to passive or dreamy love, which requires continuous effort, fortitude, and the willingness to give without resentment.
• 🌍 Dostoevsky proposes a radical vision of universal love, where people practice selfless and open affection for all, as a means to transform the world and bring about salvation.
• 🕊️ The final takeaway emphasizes the power of love to redeem and transform individuals, as seen in the characters of Dostoevsky's novels who, despite their flaws, have the potential for goodness through love.

Q & A

What is the central theme of the video script regarding Fyodor Dostoevsky's philosophy on love?

The central theme of the video script is the exploration of Fyodor Dostoevsky's philosophy on love, particularly how love can both compel us to commit self-destructive actions and redeem us, granting us meaning and the potential to save the world.

According to the script, what does the character of the underground man from 'Notes From The Underground' represent in terms of love?

The underground man represents the suffering that arises from an inability to love. His character is depicted as being filled with resentment, envy, and hatred due to his deprivation of the ability to love others.

In the context of Dostoevsky's works, how is the concept of 'narcissistic love' portrayed?

Narcissistic love in Dostoevsky's works is portrayed as a form of love that is self-centered and seeks to control or dominate the beloved for the lover's own benefit, often resulting in disaster.

What is the significance of the character Luzhin from 'Crime and Punishment' in illustrating Dostoevsky's views on egoistic love?

Luzhin is significant as he exemplifies egoistic love, where he loves Duna not for her own sake but for the control he can exert over her, showing how love can be corrupted by a desire for power and superiority.

How does Dostoevsky explore the idea of sacrificial love in his novels?

Dostoevsky explores sacrificial love through characters who give themselves over to their beloved, often facing great personal cost. This type of love is depicted as pure and transformative, even when it leads to the lover's suffering.

What role does Alyosha play in 'The Brothers Karamazov' in terms of representing Dostoevsky's ideal of love?

Alyosha represents Dostoevsky's ideal of love through his unwavering compassion and lack of judgment towards others, regardless of their actions. He embodies the selfless, universal love that Dostoevsky believes has the power to redeem and transform individuals.

How does the script connect Dostoevsky's personal religious views to his philosophy of love?

The script connects Dostoevsky's religious views to his philosophy of love by highlighting the influence of Christian concepts such as self-sacrifice and universal love, as seen in the character of Christ and the teachings of the Elder Zosima.

What is the concept of 'active love' as discussed in the script in relation to Dostoevsky's views?

Active love, as discussed in the script, refers to the kind of love that requires effort, labor, and fortitude. It is the love that is willing to give without resentment or entitlement, embodying Dostoevsky's belief in the transformative power of selfless love.

How does the script interpret Dostoevsky's belief in the potential of love to save the world?

The script interprets Dostoevsky's belief as the idea that love, specifically selfless and universal love, has the power to cut through people's insecurities and self-destruction, leading to a brighter future for humanity through examples of kindness and compassion.

What is the significance of the quote from the New Testament used in the script regarding love?

The quote from the New Testament is significant as it encapsulates the qualities of love that Dostoevsky admired and advocated for in his philosophy. It serves to reinforce the idea that love is patient, kind, and selfless, and that these qualities have the potential to transform individuals and society.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 The Philosophy of Love in Dostoevsky's Works

This paragraph explores Fyodor Dostoevsky's deep and complex views on love, as depicted in his novels and writings. It emphasizes love as a central theme in Dostoevsky's work, with a focus on the suffering that arises from an inability to love, as illustrated by the character of the Underground Man in 'Notes from the Underground.' The paragraph discusses how love can both compel individuals to destructive actions and offer redemption and meaning, suggesting that love is a fundamental aspect of humanity's existence.

05:01

😔 The Consequences of Lovelessness

This section delves into the torment of individuals who are deprived of the ability to love, as exemplified by the Elder Zossima's quote from 'The Brothers Karamazov.' The character of the Underground Man is used to illustrate the self-destructive nature of a life devoid of love, leading to a state of misery and self-hatred. The narrative shows how spite and cruelty can turn into self-punishment, highlighting the importance of love in Dostoevsky's philosophy and the misery that ensues without it.

10:02

🤔 The Egoist's Twisted Love

The paragraph examines the concept of narcissistic love, where individuals seek to control or dominate their loved ones for selfish reasons. It uses the character of Luzhin from 'Crime and Punishment' and a short story 'The Meek One' to illustrate how love can become a tool for manipulation and power. The paragraph discusses the disastrous outcomes of such relationships and the suffering they cause, emphasizing the destructive potential of love when it is corrupted by egoism.

15:03

👨‍❤️‍👨 Love and Sacrifice

This section discusses the idea of sacrificial love, drawing on the teachings of Julian of Norwich and Dostoevsky's interpretation of Christ's self-sacrifice. The paragraph contrasts egoistic love with selfless love, highlighting the dangers and the transformative power of love that is willing to give without expectation of return. It uses 'The Idiot' and 'The Brothers Karamazov' to show how characters embody this selfless love, even in the face of betrayal and hardship.

20:03

🌏 The Universal Lover's Vision

The paragraph introduces the concept of universal love, or 'agape,' and Dostoevsky's aspiration for a world where love is extended to all people without discrimination. It discusses the idea of treating everyone as brothers and sisters, serving them with enthusiasm and gratitude. The paragraph reflects on the challenges of this philosophy and the potential for love to redeem and transform individuals, as seen in the characters of Alyosha and Zosima.

25:05

🕊️ Love as the Salvation of Humanity

This section encapsulates Dostoevsky's belief in the redemptive power of love, suggesting that it can serve as the salvation of humanity. It discusses the active love that Zosima speaks of in 'The Brothers Karamazov,' which involves serving others and sharing in their suffering. The paragraph connects this idea to Dostoevsky's broader philosophical and political views, emphasizing the importance of empathy, compassion, and the recognition of shared humanity.

30:09

🌟 The Hope for a Loving World

The final paragraph reflects on Dostoevsky's hope for a world transformed by love, as inspired by the teachings of Christ and the example set by characters like Alyosha and Prince Myshkin. It discusses the potential of love to unite humanity and overcome violence, resentment, and retribution. The paragraph concludes with a personal note on the power of literature to inspire and guide moral behavior, and the enduring message of love from the New Testament.

Keywords

💡Love

Love in the context of the video is a multifaceted concept that encompasses both the potential for redemption and the capacity for destruction. It is the central theme, with the video exploring love's role in human suffering, selflessness, and transformation. For example, the video discusses how love can compel us to commit self-destructive actions or redeem us, granting meaning and potentially saving the world, as seen in the character of Alyosha from 'The Brothers Karamazov'.

💡Hell

Hell is used metaphorically to represent the suffering that arises from an inability to love. It is not just a physical place but a state of emotional torment. The video cites the Elder Zosima's view that the quickest way to plunge into torment is by cutting off one's ability to love others, as seen in the character of the Underground Man from 'Notes From The Underground'.

💡Selfishness

Selfishness is portrayed as a distortion of love, where individuals seek to control or dominate others for their own benefit. This is evident in the character of Luzhin from 'Crime and Punishment', who loves Duna for the control he can exert over her, and in the short story 'The Meek One', where a husband mentally tortures his wife for his own egoistic satisfaction.

💡Suffering

Suffering is a key consequence of lovelessness and selfishness in the video. It is depicted as a result of the inability to love or be loved, leading to a life not worth living. The Underground Man's story exemplifies this, as his lack of fellow feeling for others dooms him to a life of misery.

💡Nihilism

Nihilism is briefly mentioned as one of the many topics discussed by Dostoevsky. It is a philosophical viewpoint that suggests life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value. The video does not delve deeply into nihilism but implies it as a potential outcome of the rejection of love and morality.

💡Existentialism

Existentialism is a philosophical theory that emphasizes individual freedom, choice, and subjective experience. The video touches on existentialism as part of Dostoevsky's broader philosophical exploration, particularly in how characters grapple with the meaning of life and love in the face of suffering and moral ambiguity.

💡Self-sacrifice

Self-sacrifice is presented as the purest form of love, where one is willing to give themselves over to others without expectation of return. This concept is exemplified in 'The Idiot' through Prince Myshkin's attempts to help others despite the personal cost, and in 'The Brothers Karamazov' with Alyosha's unconditional love for others.

💡Resentment

Resentment is depicted as a destructive emotion that can arise from an inability to love and a sense of self-hatred. It is particularly evident in the character of the Underground Man, who festers with resentment, envy, and hatred due to his lack of love and affection.

💡Redemption

Redemption is the possibility of salvation or improvement through love. The video suggests that love can offer a path to redemption, as seen in 'Crime and Punishment' where Sonia's love helps Raskolnikov regain his conscience, and in 'The Idiot' where Myshkin's love offers a fleeting moment of hope to Natasha.

💡Universal Love

Universal Love is Dostoevsky's radical suggestion of extending selfless, active, and brotherly love to all of humanity. It is the ultimate expression of his philosophy, where love is not limited to personal relationships but is expanded to encompass all people, as illustrated in the Elder Zosima's teachings in 'The Brothers Karamazov'.

Highlights

The concept of hell as the suffering from an inability to love, according to Fyodor Dostoevsky's philosophy.

Love as a central theme in Dostoevsky's works, exploring its power to both destroy and redeem.

The character of the underground man from 'Notes From The Underground' as an example of self-destructive actions resulting from a lack of love.

Dostoevsky's view on the unloving life being not worth living, as depicted in 'The Brothers Karamazov'.

The idea that love can compel us to commit heinous actions, as seen in various Dostoevsky's characters.

The transformation of love into a tool for control or domination in Dostoevsky's novels.

The character of Luan from 'Crime and Punishment' as an example of narcissistic love.

Dostoevsky's critique of intellectual circles for their egoistic love of the people of Russia.

The concept of sacrificial love as the purest form of affection, as seen in 'The Idiot'.

The character of Alyosha in 'The Brothers Karamazov' as an embodiment of selfless love.

The demand for active love that requires labor and fortitude, as opposed to passive or dreamy love.

Dostoevsky's belief in the transformative power of selfless love, even when it leads to personal suffering.

The idea of universal love or 'Agape' as a solution to the world's problems, according to Dostoevsky.

The 'Dream of a Ridiculous Man' as an exploration of a world based on universal selfless love.

Dostoevsky's vision for a future of love between all people, inspired by the teachings of Christ.

The importance of recognizing the potential for redemption in every character, according to Dostoevsky's novels.

The New Testament's influence on Dostoevsky's view of love as patient, kind, and not self-seeking.

Transcripts

what is hell I maintain it is the

suffering of an inability to love

Theodore dovi is known as a historic

thinker on many many topics in his

novels and articles he discusses God

morality nihilism and existentialism but

today I want to focus on an often

neglected part of dov's overall

philosophy his ideas about love because

for this Russian author love was a

subject of endless Fascination and it

crops up in almost every one of his

works dovi is adept at displaying how

love can compel us to commit heinous

self-destructive actions but also how it

can redeem us grant us meaning and

ultimately even save the world and if

that's not a reason to keep watching I

don't know what is get ready to learn

how love can kill what passion has to do

with politics and why for dovi love was

the fundamental redeeming quality of all

Humanity as always bear in mind this is

just my interpretation of dovi and you

are totally free to disagree also there

will be spoilers ahead for many of dov's

novels though I will do my best to avoid

giving too much away on major plot

points but with that out of the way

let's begin by exploring the darkest

aspect of dov's philosophy of love what

happens to us when we are deprived of it

one the unloving life is not worth

living the quote at the start of this

video comparing hell to an inability to

love comes from the Elder zosa in in

dov's magnum opus the brothers karamazov

according to him the quickest and most

potent way a human can plunge themselves

into unimaginable torment is by cutting

off their ability to love others

deprived of this love they will begin to

Fester like an infected wound as

resentment envy and hatred fills the

place where affection could have been

and nowhere is this more evidence than

in the character of the underground man

famously dov's Nolla Notes From The

Underground begins with the main

character declaring himself sick

spiteful and unattractive and throughout

his story he narrates the various ways

he sought to enhance the misery of other

people he vividly describes the sick

pleasure he took in a toothache because

he could make the lives of everyone

around him that bit worse with his loud

and Theatrical moans and complaints he

says that in his position as a civil

servant he would exercise his Petty

power on the people around him in a

needlessly cruel manner he would would

care nothing for the feelings of other

people and would even go out of his way

to make their lives worse just to savor

their suffering his entire philosophy

can be summed up in the following phrase

Let the world go to hell but I should

always have my tea of course this

philosophy is hardly a successful one

and the underground man ends up in

profound misery as a result of it the

core of the underground man's suffering

is that he has absolutely no fellow

feeling for other people and it is

tragically understandable how he has

become this way to to hear him tell it

he only has cruel and disloyal so-called

friends a meager pension and no reason

to carry on living in such a situation

it is easy to see how someone could lose

their sense of Love entirely but this

lack of Love Dooms him all the same ever

eager to present complex psychological

profiles dovi shows how this aggressive

spite eventually morphs into the

underground man's way of punishing

himself towards the end of the Nolla he

begins to befriend a poor and

downtrodden prostitute named Liza and it

seems like there might be the first

smatterings of genuine affection here

they have a long conversation where the

underground man shocks her with his

brutal and cruel honesty but then

briefly softens inviting her to visit

him at his home but when she does appear

and offers out a hand of friendship and

companionship he suddenly changes his

tune berating her and insulting her

until she leaves now he is not just

unloving out of lack of opportunity it

has become a direct selfharm Choice he

soon regrets his cruelty and begins to

run after Liza but at the last moment he

decides it was better to spread his

bitter resentments to another person now

she will know the truth as well that the

world is not loving or kind and it never

will be the hot brand of his insults

will turn her Against Humanity as well

and a new underground man will be

created where before there was such

promise of selflessness and Redemption

the underground man has become so deep

in his hatred of himself and the world

that he does not know how to love

anymore it is like an atrophied muscle

he has lost control over and here we get

potentially the saddest line in the

entire story Liza certainly did fully

understand that I was a Despicable man

and what was worse incapable of loving

her the underground man is so torn apart

inside with the insults and injustices

of the world and so unable to look past

the malays of his own self-hatred that

he is permanently deprived of Love thus

he dwells in a dovi in Hell mourning the

loss of what could have made his life

worthwhile and when dovy equates

lovelessness with hell he is not talking

merely about romantic love some of the

happiest characters in his other novels

are contented monastics filled with a

gentle love for everyone but it is the

all-encompassing totalizing completeness

of the underground man's hatred that

Dooms him because it is not just poor

Liza he despises it is all of mankind

every indignity or suffering thrown at

him becomes another twisted smile he can

curl in the face of the next person he

passes he is the very definition of a

hurt person hurting people and he is

also the starkest example of just how

important love is in dov's overall

Philosophy for some thinkers like Plato

love is a wonderful compliment to a good

life but is ultimately subordinate to

more important matters like virtue and

the pursuit of Truth for others like

nature interpersonal love is often

looked down upon with him remarking that

very few great thinkers have ever been

married the Romantic Poets often

depicted love as a powerful motivating

and destabilizing force throwing our

souls into torment and Ecstasy with

every passing moment but Notes From The

Underground demonstrates that for dovi

love is not just powerful not just

valuable but is an indispensable

component of a worthwhile life without

any love at all no compassion for a

partner or affection for a friend or

even a loose sense of commonality with

the rest of the human race we are doomed

to be miserable and despise ourselves to

ask someone to live without loving

others might as well be asking them to

live without the use of oxygen for those

of you familiar with Buddhist philosophy

you might recognize some parallels here

with the idea of loving kindness and the

unskillful emotions I also want to focus

on dov's choice to say that hell is the

inability to love he seems to agree with

Aristotle here that the greater part of

Love is in the loving it might be

heartbreaking and isolating for us to

feel that we are not loved but to use

this as a reason to never love others is

to needlessly increase our suffering a h

hundredfold it is the genius of dovi to

argue that our philosophies should begin

with love rather than getting to them

further down the line and Notes From The

Underground is perhaps the darkest

demonstration of this terrifying idea

and as we move forward to looking at

some of the less Savory ways love can

manifest we should bear in mind that

dovi thinks that a rejection of love

love entirely is the worst situation of

all this is why he equates lovelessness

with hell abandoning our natural

affection for other people Dooms us

entirely it cannot get any worse than

this but anyway enough of my gloomy

rantings we can now slowly move out of

hell and begin to explore some of the

ways dovi thinks the noble emotion of

love can be morphed into something much

uglier how it can turn into a wish to

control or to dominate or otherwise

bring out the most violent aspects of

the human psyche let's look at the

people who talk about love but believe

only in ego if you want to help me make

more videos like this then please

consider subscribing to my Channel or my

patreon the links are in the description

two the love of the egoist in modern

parlament the term narcissistic love has

become pretty commonplace various

definitions abound but they all orbit

around one key Insight some lovers are

only out for themselves knowingly or not

they aren't truly loving for the sake of

those they love but instead for some

selfish benefit this might be to plug

some Gap in their self-image or from

hedonistic desire or simply out of spite

but however this manifests dovi normally

envisions it ending in disaster and

moreover he sees this type of Love

everywhere in public life perhaps the

most well-known example of this type of

Love is in the character of Luan from

Crime and Punishment Luan is a lawyer

betrothed to Mari Duna the sister of our

protagonist rasnov sorry that's a lot of

names to take in however it quickly

becomes clear that Luan loves Duna

purely for the control he can exert over

her he talks about how he has always

wished to marry a poor woman down on her

luck as this encourages her to remain

constantly grateful to him for

magnanimously agreeing to take her in

just when she was least desirable he

thinks that women make much better wives

you see when they cannot survive without

their husbands he becomes terrified when

Duna looks like she might come into some

significant money because he does not

really want to freely love and be loved

freely in return what he desires most is

to control his beloved moreover when he

feels like he is losing this control he

turns spiteful and bitter attempting to

ruin raskolnikov's reputation as a petty

form of Revenge today we would probably

not hesitate in calling Luan somewhat of

a narcissist later dovi would explore

this ugly variant on love in even

greater detail in his terrifying short

story the meek one here he portrays how

a narcissistic and domineering husband

mentally tortures his own wife until she

eventually decides to end her life dovi

describes every inch of the man's

control he would deprive her of

affection and have her beg it from him

piece by piece he would attempt to

uncover dirt on her so he always had

something to hold above her head worst

of all he always presented things so he

could hold the moral High ground and

look down on her from it not letting her

forget a single one of her faults again

we see how a twisted and malformed

version of Love Can manifest from a

spiteful and controlling person in this

case the egoist does not truly care

about their beloved but instead wants to

see a glorified image of themselves

reflected back at them they want to

prove that they are worthy of worship

and affection Superior to everyone else

around them especially the one they are

supposed to love both lusion and this

husband managed to come across as

simultaneously repulsive and deeply

pitiable they want selfless devotion

they want to be loved but they refuse to

give it themselves as a result rather

than receiving the free affection of

another agent they must extract it bit

by bit through numerous Avenues of

coercion I would wager we all know

people who love a little bit like this

for dovi these people are also suffering

from a certain inability to love though

they are not quite in the living hell of

the underground man they are ultimately

still cut off from True joy and this

begins theme for dov's philosophy the

more self-centered a love is the less

Joy it can bring both for the lover and

the Beloved this will eventually

culminate in him praising a

semi-religious Selfless Love but we'll

save that for later in the video it is

also worth noting that a points both

Luan and this husband Express seemingly

quite deep feelings of self-loathing

this continues the idea that dovi

expressed in Notes From The Underground

how self-hatred can very quickly

transform into a total lack of affection

for anyone dovi also explores how

possessiveness in love can bring out its

destructive and explosive dimensions for

instance in the brother's karamazov much

of Dimitri karamazovs suffering is

caused by his lust filled attachments to

a woman named grushenka in an attempt to

win her over he betrays almost every one

of his principles he deceives his fiance

spends other people's money and beats

his own father in a jealous rage though

Dimitri's love is not outright

narcissistic or manipulative it is still

possessive and envious and without

spoiling too much this leads to pretty

disastrous consequences likewise in the

idiot we see jealousy slowly Drive the

character of regoin insane and this

culminates in a horrific and violent act

against a woman who needed more than

anything for someone to be kind to her

in both cases it is not that these

lovers set out to use the object of

their affection egoistically instead it

is that their fear and their self-image

got in the way they may not have wanted

to control but they itely wanted to

possess and dovi paints this drop of

selfishness transforming pure love into

something potentially violent and

terrifying to Branch out from romantic

examples we also see dovi criticizing

the intellectuals of his time period for

their egoistic love of the people of

Russia amongst the intelligencia of his

time he saw that almost everyone would

profess this deep affection for the poor

and needy but that this rarely extended

to actually spending time with them and

treating them as equals instead much

like the narcissistic lovers in his

novels the intellectual Circles of St

Petersburg would insist that they

already knew what the peasantry of

Russia needed and thought it was their

job to Enlighten them very few things

seem to make dovi as angry as this

condescending attitude for him behind

all of these huttin words was a

fundamental lack of respect for the

traditions and way of life of the

Russian peasantry which in many ways

dovi thought was superior to the

westernized academic Circle of the

Cities this thought culminates in his

astonishing novel demons where he skewes

the members of the intelligencia as

fundamentally self-interested he accuses

them of really just wanting to use

whatever sentiments they deem necessary

to gain control and power and of

thinking they knew how the peasantry

should live their lives better than they

did here we also begin to see another

theme in dov's view on love he not only

views it as of extreme interpersonal

significance but it also becomes a key

part of his wider philosophical and

political views as time goes on the idea

we see running through all of the

examples of this section is that love

can become corrupted through a sense of

superiority and a lack of respect for

the agency of the Beloved and this makes

sense given the particulars of dov's

religious views for him part of what

made Christ's love for mankind so moving

is that he was fully human he was not a

spirit standing above us dictating

orders but instead suffering alongside

us and delivering his message as a

god-made man I am not Christian myself

but I don't think you have to be to see

the beauty in this idea dovi constantly

points out how our desire for Love Can

mingle with our fears and insecurities

to create this noxious mixture of

condescension and control and that this

threatens to strangle what could have

been a joyous kind of love this

poisoning of kindness and affection by a

wish to control also forms the backbone

of much of his critiques of other

religious movements for instance Roman

Catholicism and protestantism and even

some Orthodox churches and I think this

warning is worth listening to for our

own lives how often do we taint our own

love with some form of egoism or

selfishness sure we might not be total

narcissists or believe that we are

fundamentally Superior to our partner

but how often do we think we love

someone for who they are only for it to

emerge later that we may have partly

loved them for what they could do for us

it is a difficult question to pose but

one well worth asking when something as

important as love is on the table but

then this also begs the question how do

we love in a way that is not so egoistic

well dooi has a surprising answer three

love and sacrifice in the 14th century

the English Mystic Julian of Norwich

fell ill with a fever and began to

experience Visions a devout Christian

she experienced Revelations About the

Passion Jesus felt for Humanity as he

died on the cross sacrificing himself to

save our souls in one of these Visions

Christ tells her it is endless

satisfaction to me that I ever suffered

passion for thee and if I might suffer

more I would suffer more the phrasing

here is incredibly important for Julian

Christ did not just suffer because it

was necessary he did so as a loving and

willing Act of self-sacrifice so great

was his Devotion to mankind that he was

not only able to Bear suffering for us

but was glad to do so just like how you

will often hear parents not just say

that they would die for children but

that they would do so without a hint of

regret or resentment in their hearts

again I am not personally religious but

I have had this line running through my

head for months now because it is one of

the most insightful meditations on

Selfless Love I have ever come across

and it also summarizes in a single

sentence what dovi thinks the purest

kind of affection can amount to a key

theme in many of dov's later works is

the idea of loving through sacrifice

this forms a very clear contrast from

the egoistic kind of love we explored in

the previous section whereas the selfish

lover attempts to extract from their

Beloved the sacrificial lover intends to

give themselves over to them as if as an

offering obviously such a move is

fraught with danger and despite praising

this sort of sacrificial love dovi does

not shy away from how it can end

horribly arguably his novel The Idiot is

all about how a kind man who loves in a

wholehearted and selfless way is driven

mad by the cruel and cowardly behavior

of other people the titular character

Prince mishkin spends much of the novel

attempting to help the Fallen woman

nstasia philipov and her troubled and

Reckless lover rosu sorry if I've

completely butchered the pronunciations

there more than anything else he wants

them to see their own value bring them

out of their cynicism and love them he

even sacrifices his prospects with the

woman he truly wants to be with to

achieve this and forgives rosen's murder

attempt on him and yet in the end it is

all in vain I won't totally spoil it

here but suffice to say the innocent

Prince michan's attempts blow up in his

face and he has left a Broken Man sent

abroad for extensive medical treatment

in an attempt to recover his psyche he

gave all he had in Acts of Selfless Love

and yet dovi paints him as suffering for

it the question dangling in the air is

should he have been so kind should he

have been so loving and dov's answer is

still unequivocally yes we get a glimpse

of the true radicalism of his loving

philosophy here he implores us to love

others selflessly even as it's going

horribly wrong for us for him this is

what it truly means to be

self-sacrificial in our love and let's

be absolutely clear this is a tall order

the great Russian is asking us to

perform and it leaves us incredibly

vulnerable to exploitation and

manipulation but as we shall see in the

next section his demands only become

more extreme we see a similar kind of

Selfless Love in the character of alosa

in the brothers karamazov he is the most

spiritual of the three brothers and his

most remarkable trait is his complete

unwillingness to judge other people or

consider them beneath him in any way all

throughout the novel he encounters

people who have done Terrible Things

pursued selfish ends and committed only

scant acts of kindness in their lives

and yet each time despite all the good

he is doing in the world he will

continually affirm that he is not better

than them instead he shows them an

unrelenting and indiscriminate kind of

love this comes out most strongly in his

meeting with grushenka another of dov's

Fallen women despite her poor reputation

and lowly societal Position alosa will

not consider himself Superior to her and

indeed at points even act as if he is

beneath her confronted with genuine

egalitarian affection and understanding

grenka Spirits are restored and she

actually begins to change as a person

for the better he does the same thing

for many others over the course of the

story alosa will take someone who has

been made rule by self-judgment or the

Judgment of others and he will extend a

hand to them but this is not the

condescending wish to save that dovi was

so critical of in the previous section

this is instead a genuine brotherly love

that emanates from alosia like an aura

this is the ideal sort of love for dooi

Endless uncond descending and selfless

and he admits that this is incredibly

demanding in the same novel The Elder

Zoser a much- regarded monastic talks

about the difference between active love

and a kind kind of dreamy love whereas

it is easy for anyone to fantasize about

Grand romantic gestures or a general

affection for mankind or to say that

they love someone from the bottom of

their heart active love is different and

much more difficult zosima admits that

it is Harsh and Dreadful and requires

labor and fortitude it is the kind of

love that is willing to give and give

and give without a hint of resentment or

entitlement I would argue we see this

kind of love in small ways everywhere

from the ground grand father who

painfully kneels on brittle bones to

play with his delighted granddaughter to

the wife standing by her husband as he's

ravaged with illness it is in the eyes

of the dog who leaps to the defense of

their owner and in The Last Breath of

the soldier taking a bullet for their

friend but to have this active love be

the guiding force of your life to be

totally devoted to others willing to

sacrifice anything for them and actively

loving them every second of every day

that is the sort of love zosa and dovi

demand of us and at points he says it is

the highest virtue a person can have it

is the Cornerstone of dov's faith and he

finds its apotheosis in the image of

Christ dying for us all still crying out

for his captors to be forgiven and all

throughout dov's novels we see the

redeeming power of being loved like this

in crime and punishment it is the

selfless and Noble love of Sonia that

helps raskolnikov ReDiscover his ailen

conscience and become a better man in

the idiot it is what convinces nstasia

Philip POA if only for a moment that she

might have worth as a person and in the

brothers karamazov alyosha's love

consistently transforms the people

around him from callous and uncaring to

kind and generous for dostoevski this is

what makes Selfless Love worthwhile even

when it leaves us vulnerable and

sometimes goes disastrously wrong for

him it has the power to cut through

people's insecurity and self-destruction

and make them see that they are worthy

of respect and reveal to them the kind

of person that they could be if they

truly tried one of the wonderful things

about dov's novels is that almost no one

is portrayed as Beyond Redemption and

everyone has the potential to become

something truly good If Only They had

this treasured Kind of Love No Doubt

such a love is incredibly rare but if

even a fraction of what dovi says about

its transformative effects are true it

may be well worth striving for but if

you thought that this was a stretch

dov's demands are about to get much more

extreme because now he wants us to take

this selfless sacrificial almost

sacramental love and expand it to

Encompass the whole of humanity four the

universal lover in ancient Greece people

would use the word Agape to describe the

sort of universal Divine love that

Christians would later attribute to God

this was part of a whole set of

different types of loving that included

AOS or erotic love and filia or

brotherly love and dostoevsky's radical

suggestion is that we bring about a a

world in which there is universal agape

and filia that is affection and

brotherly love for all he himself seems

to recognize that this idea is a little

bit ambitious he even calls one of his

final short stories exploring this idea

the dream of a ridiculous man here he

explores someone going through a brief

but intense existential crisis who

emerges on the other side with a

completely new outlook on life the man

discovers a wish to work tirelessly in

service to a future where we all love

one another selflessly and openly saying

that this will be the salvation of the

world and of course everyone else calls

him ridiculous there are many

theological themes that come up in

dostoevski there's the problem of evil

the issue of morality without God and so

much more but one that perhaps appears

more often than any other is the

doctrine of loving your neighbor as

yourself and this becomes increasingly

prominent in his later writings in the

brothers karamazov the Elder zosa gives

us perhaps the closest approximation of

dostoevsky's own philosophy he says that

we should love life and encourage all

others to do the same and moreover that

this must be the energetic active love

that we spoke about in the previous

section we must behave like alosia and

seek to serve those around us as if they

were our brothers essentially dovi wants

us to emulate the behaviors of the

previous section but not just towards

our friends or our partners but anyone

that we come across and moreover to do

all of this not begrudgingly or early

but with endless enthusiasm and energy

and even gratitude this also goes some

way to making sense of what dostoevski

means when he says we are not just

responsible for our own sin but also the

sins of everyone else he is encouraging

us to treat the hardship of life like a

shared burden and to extend empathy and

compassion towards anyone's suffering

even if that suffering is of their own

creation and to recognize we're doing

this not from a place of superiority but

because it is a privilege to serve this

also explains how dosv can portray

characters like the underground man with

such Exquisite tenderness while still

not pretending that they are not

responsible for their actions dovi is

doing in a literary way what Jesus or

alosa do in a literal way he is sharing

in the trials and tribulations of his

characters without removing their agency

and through his writings he encourages

us to do the same to people suffering in

our own lives it is a little bit like

schopenhauer's idea that we are a

community of fellow sufferers dooi wants

us to recognize the pain of other people

and extend our compassion even to those

who are cruel or self-destructive and

this attitude closely aligns with dov's

wider philosophy in a speech delivered a

year before his death in celebration of

the poet Pushkin dovi discusses his

vision for the future of Russia and the

world just as Prince Michigan or alosia

or Christ serve as examples to light our

way to selflessness and Universal

kindness he wanted Russia itself to

become a symbol of universal Global

Brotherhood saying to become a Russian

fully means only to become a brother of

all men to become if you will a

universal man Doo's ridiculous dream is

of a future of love between all people

where we are all a bit more like alosha

mushkin and Christ where we would take

up the demands of a totalizing active

and Universal love and follow it to the

ends of the Earth he is perhaps one of

the only authors in history to take the

Christian commandment to love all people

so seriously for dostoevski violence and

resentment and retribution would never

get to the root of the problems we face

as a species he thought that instead of

leading by conquest or military might a

brighter future could be brought about

by examples of selfless people saying

our destiny is universality won Not By

The Sword but by the strength of

Brotherhood and our fraternal aspiration

to reunite mankind this again makes a

lot of sense dov's religion for him the

most impactful person in history was

Jesus Christ he accomplished more than

any General transformed the face of much

of the world and yet did so through the

power of his message of total love sure

this idea has been corrupted and used

for all sorts of Nefarious ends but

dostoevski still believes hopes and

dreams that we might be able to

recapture it viewed in this light some

of dov's characters like zosima alosha

Mish and more can form powerful examples

for us to follow personally I find that

part of the power of great literature is

that it lends a certain dignity to ways

of living when we are struggling to

follow our own values we can turn to a

literary character we admire and ask

what they would do and suddenly we don't

feel so much like a fool I have

certainly noticed this myself when I am

struggling to be kind or when it seems

to be backfiring on me I quite often

call to mind the humble alosa or the

poor and loving Prince Michigan and it

certainly helps Soothe My burgeoning

resentment it helps me realize that love

is not stupid or ridiculous it might not

always go our way and there are plenty

of kind people that get taken advantage

of but in my very limited experience it

remains infinitely better than the

cynical alternative I still have a long

way to go to live up to even a minuscule

fraction of this kind of love but I'm

eternally grateful to have these

characters to help me on my way but

whoever we are cynic or Optimist

religious or atheist we can certainly

learn a lot from this extraordinary

Russian thinker and who knows maybe he's

right maybe love truly can save the

world because to quote the New Testament

that dovi valued so much love is patient

love is kind it does not envy it does

not boast it is not proud it does not

dishonor others it is not self-seeking

it is not easily angered it keeps no

record of wrongs love does not Delight

in evil but rejoices with the truth it

always protects always trusts always

hopes always perseveres I have to admit

I don't know if dostoevski is right but

I can say I really hope he is and if you

want to explore more of dov's philosophy

then click here to see my analysis of

perhaps his most famous work Crime and

Punishment and stick around for more on

thinking to improve your life