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comparison philosophy Dostoevsky Unamuno

started by Susan Bistrican on 27 Jul 11

#1 Susan Bistrican on 27 Jul 11

Use my comparison paper as an example for comparing Crime and Punishment to a philosophical work of your choice.

S. Bistrican, 2006
Redemption through Suffering:
Reading Crime and Punishment through the Existential Philosophy of Miguel de Unamuno

To suffer is to endure undesirable conditions either willingly or unwillingly. The connotations associated with suffering are that it is not an ideal condition and most people would escape a situation where they had to undergo anguish and pain. The existentialist view, however, finds that suffering is necessary in order to fully comprehend the human condition. According to Hubert Dreyfus, a philosophy professor at the University of California at Berkeley, existentialism is a philosophical movement that emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice. It mostly flourished in the Europe during the twentieth century among notable figures such as Karl Jaspers, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Famous nineteenth century philosophers who were also considered contributors of this movement were Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Existentialism also exploded into the literary scene and was embraced by writers such as Franz Kafka, Henrik Ibsen, and Samuel Beckett (Crowell). Among these philosophers and authors who held an existential view in their writing were Fyodor Dostoevsky and Miguel de Unamuno. While reading Crime and Punishment and The Tragic Sense of Life, one can easily recognize and link the systemic process of suffering: isolation, an understanding of the self, an understanding of others, and redemption and purpose. Therefore, the existential philosophy in The Tragic Sense of Life can be applied to the themes of alienation, suffering, and love in Crime and Punishment in order to obtain a complete and accurate understanding of the human condition.
This process of redemption through suffering begins with the necessity of solitude and self-alienation. Unamuno presents his notion that no man exists to be isolated because this kind of existence would be an abstraction. Unamuno compares man to an atom: the atom devoid of the universe is an abstraction, but the universe is an abstraction as well when devoid of the atom. They have a mutual relationship; they depend on each other. It is important to understand that a person needs community and community needs people; anything subtracted from this equation would throw the universe off balance and society would ultimately cease to exist. More so, society owes its existence to the individual who self-preserves thus propelling the continuance of society (29). However, before Unamuno came to this conclusion, he determined that a course of introspection and solitude was necessary to experience in order for human beings to understand themselves and eventually the world around them. According to Paul Ilie in his book Unamuno: An Existential View of Self and Society, Unamuno regarded self-alienation as a blessing in disguise. He explains that the anguish we suffer during the desperate effort to know ourselves helps us to understand the suffering of others. This idea is illustrated through Unamuno's metaphor that "when by submerging you enter into yourself, and advance along the dark inner galleries of your soul, you never know when you have left your own spiritual underground and have entered your neighbor's" (Ilie 8-9). Demonstrated in Unamuno's philosophy, solitude has a power of restoration and is more importantly a technique for self-discovery.
This same process is seen in the beginning of the first chapter in Crime and Punishment. This scene illustrates Raskolnikov's dismal state of mind: "He had become so completely absorbed in himself, and isolated from his fellows that he dreaded meeting, not only his landlady, but any one at all" (1). A considerable amount of this novel is written from Raskolnikov's stream of consciousness perspective and the reader immediately plunges into his dark and isolated psyche. Raskolnikov is a hopeless former university student strategically contemplating murder. He lives inside of his own head and further alienates himself from his community because of this. He wavers between the thought of being the "superior" man and slips into depression once he cannot reconcile with his utter hopelessness. The progression into isolation is more apparent after he commits the murders. Raskolnikov continues to retreat deeper into his own mind and begins to hate all that is around him: "A new overwhelming sensation was gaining more and more mastery over him every moment; this was in immeasurable, almost physical, repulsion for everything surrounding him, an obstinate, malignant feeling of hatred" (92). As he descends further into isolation, we see the detriments this causes: he becomes increasingly paranoid and even physically ill. He exerts characteristics of a madman-whether he is one by definition or not-and can no longer trust himself or anyone. He cannot simultaneously keep these murders a secret and also live a comfortable life in his head; he perpetually tortures himself over the crime. Is this necessarily a destructive process? Could this process, in turn, be considered a beneficial-a method of madness? The conclusion of the novel provides the reader with the resolution of love and redemption, and for this reason, the process is even more important to analyze.
Raskolnikov is ultimately submerged in his own pain and suffering which, on a superficial level, can be interpreted as negative and undesirable. Contrarily, Unamuno makes the case that this kind of process is necessary for perpetuation and survival on a spiritual level. In Ilie's words, alienation is a means for achieving ethical goals. It is in loneliness-the filter for external distractions-that introspection is best. Engaging in solitude is necessary for acquiring self-knowledge. Otherwise we would become a mere reflection of those around us (Ilie, 49). Solitude should not be confused as a means to an end. It is important to understand then that this is merely a process that eventually reaps a more favorable outcome (Ilie, 50). To Unamuno, perpetual engagement in solitude would lead to alienation which would render introspection void because introspection helps us understand ourselves and our role in the world among peers.
As mentioned earlier, after we demonstrate an understanding of ourselves, we can then begin to understand others: "The pain of our own sorrow may well induce us into a compassion for the sorrow of our fellow man" (Ilie 8-9). Concerning Raskolnikov, his progression from turning inward and wrestling with his psyche over his crime allows him to begin to empathize with Sonia and her "sinful" situation. According to Alba Amoia in her book on Dostoevsky's works, Raskolnikov has respect for Sonia despite her decision to be a prostitute because he sees parallels between then being a murderer himself. He regards himself and Sonia as outcasts in society (Dostoevsky 63). Their love is odd and would not seem logical to those who possess the conventional notion of a love that is flowery, perfect, and unmarred. Raskolnikov even utters to Sonia himself, after he confesses to the murders, "You are a strange girl, Sonia-you kiss me and hug me when I tell you about that…You don't think what you are doing" (334). This love feels illogical even to Raskolnikov. Sonia then cries out to him that "There is no one-no one in the whole world now as unhappy as you!" (334-335). There exists an understanding between suffering and the love that comes to be because of it.
Unamuno's philosophy on love explains this unusual but hardly illogical relationship of Raskolnikov and Sonia. In his chapter "Love, Pain, Compassion, and Personality," he describes love as the most tragic thing there is; it is "death's sister" and the only remedy of death. His main philosophy on love is that only true, unrequited love comes out of mutual suffering. While bodies unite through pleasure, souls unite through pain. Raskolnikov and Sonia could only understand each other's woes because they were able to pity one another. This furthers the assumption that a common grief is necessary for humans to connect spiritually. Whoever feels the most compassion loves the most and loves the deepest. Unamuno states that one has to also personalize everything in order to love everything. That is why when a mutual suffering is present, people connect on a more profound level and thus have the ability to love each other on a spiritual level. We see Raskolnikov and Sonia's love become this way at the end of the novel when he falls at her knees and weeps. This action seems odd though it is not devoid of meaning. Pain is the pillar of human existence and Raskolnikov realizes this notion. As Unamuno states, "Suffering is the way of consciousness, and it is through suffering that living beings achieve self-consciousness…In pleasure one forgets oneself, forgets that one exists…" (154). This explains how Raskolnikov is reminded of why he exists; pain has an existential value.
Raskolnikov finally experiences redemption at the end of the novel when he realizes that his suffering has brought him closer to Sonia and he is able to love-it is ultimately this love that saves him. As Unamuno says,
For in truth, human beings love each other spiritually only when they have suffered the same sorrow, when they have long plowed the stony earth, joined together by the mutual yoke of a common grief. It is then that they know one another and feel for and feel with one another in their common anguish, and pity one another and love one another. For to love means to pity, and, though their bodies are united by pleasure, their souls are united by pain" (149).
After being convicted of his murder and sent to Siberia, Raskolnikov is redeemed for his sin and unites with Sonia though pain. His long-awaited redemption and "final integration of his heart, mind, and soul" occurs when Sonia visits him (Amoia 69). It is at this moment when Raskolnikov falls to his knees and weeps at Sonia's feet not understanding what exactly has overcome him. Sonia, though initially frightened, understands this action and "a light of infinite happiness came into her eyes…She knew and had no doubt that he loved her beyond everything and that at last the moment had come" (448). They now realized that love is what renewed their faith in life and in each other. As stated by Amoia, "Raskolnikov is restored to a better, higher, more worthy state and has earned the right to return to the human fold." He is reborn by the miracle of reciprocal love (70). Thorough this challenging process of suffering and alienation, Raskolnikov has finally obtained redemption and forgiveness.
Existentialist thought is not favored by all-in fact, it is highly criticized, especially by religious groups who regard it as a bi-product of atheism and agnosticism. Existentialism has often been charged with allowing people to cease the search for solutions for problems-something Sartre calls "desperate quietism" in his book Existentialism and Human Emotions (9). It has also been charged with dwelling on the dark side of human life. Sartre debunks these claims stating that existentialism is "a doctrine which makes human life possible and, in addition, declares that every truth and every action implies a human setting and a human subjectivity" (10). There is a humane factor to existentialism that people overlook due to the popularity of its negative bleak presentation. Through the employment of existential philosophy in The Tragic Sense of Life and Crime and Punishment, the reader recognizes this humanistic quality and understands the necessity of suffering in order to fully empathize and love another human being. Thus, though both books are initially bleak, they offer insight on the human condition and provide the reader with the universally relevant message that though no one is completely devoid of pain, it is though suffering that human beings are able to experience contentment.

Works Cited

Amoia, Alba. Feodor Dostoevsky. New York: Continuum, 1993.

Crowell, Steven. "Existentialism." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2004. Stanford University. 12 December 2006. .

Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. 1866. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1994.

Dreyfus, Hubert L. "Existentialism." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 12 December 2006. < http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555530/Existentialism.html>.

Ilie, Paul. Unamuno: An Existential View of Self and Society. Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1967.

Sartre, Jean-Paul. Existentialism and Human Emotions. Secaucus: Citadel, 1957.

Unamuno, Miguel. The Tragic Sense of Life in Men and Nations. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1972.

<div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Use my comparison paper as an example for comparing Crime and Punishment to a philosophical work of your choice. S. Bistrican, 2006 Redemption through Suffering: Reading Crime and Punishment through the Existential Philosophy of Miguel de Unamuno To suffer is to endure undesirable conditions either willingly or unwillingly. The connotations associated with suffering are that it is not an ideal condition and most people would escape a situation where they had to undergo anguish and pain. The existentialist view, however, finds that suffering is necessary in order to fully comprehend the human condition. According to Hubert Dreyfus, a philosophy professor at the University of California at Berkeley, existentialism is a philosophical movement that emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice. It mostly flourished in the Europe during the twentieth century among notable figures such as Karl Jaspers, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Famous nineteenth century philosophers who were also considered contributors of this movement were Soren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. Existentialism also exploded into the literary scene and was embraced by writers such as Franz Kafka, Henrik Ibsen, and Samuel Beckett (Crowell). Among these philosophers and authors who held an existential view in their writing were Fyodor Dostoevsky and Miguel de Unamuno. While reading Crime and Punishment and The Tragic Sense of Life, one can easily recognize and link the systemic process of suffering: isolation, an understanding of the self, an understanding of others, and redemption and purpose. Therefore, the existential philosophy in The Tragic Sense of Life can be applied to the themes of alienation, suffering, and love in Crime and Punishment in order to obtain a complete and accurate understanding of the human condition. This process of redemption through suffering begins with the necessity of solitude and self-alienation. Unamuno presents his notion that no man exists to be isolated because this kind of existence would be an abstraction. Unamuno compares man to an atom: the atom devoid of the universe is an abstraction, but the universe is an abstraction as well when devoid of the atom. They have a mutual relationship; they depend on each other. It is important to understand that a person needs community and community needs people; anything subtracted from this equation would throw the universe off balance and society would ultimately cease to exist. More so, society owes its existence to the individual who self-preserves thus propelling the continuance of society (29). However, before Unamuno came to this conclusion, he determined that a course of introspection and solitude was necessary to experience in order for human beings to understand themselves and eventually the world around them. According to Paul Ilie in his book Unamuno: An Existential View of Self and Society, Unamuno regarded self-alienation as a blessing in disguise. He explains that the anguish we suffer during the desperate effort to know ourselves helps us to understand the suffering of others. This idea is illustrated through Unamuno's metaphor that "when by submerging you enter into yourself, and advance along the dark inner galleries of your soul, you never know when you have left your own spiritual underground and have entered your neighbor's" (Ilie 8-9). Demonstrated in Unamuno's philosophy, solitude has a power of restoration and is more importantly a technique for self-discovery. This same process is seen in the beginning of the first chapter in Crime and Punishment. This scene illustrates Raskolnikov's dismal state of mind: "He had become so completely absorbed in himself, and isolated from his fellows that he dreaded meeting, not only his landlady, but any one at all" (1). A considerable amount of this novel is written from Raskolnikov's stream of consciousness perspective and the reader immediately plunges into his dark and isolated psyche. Raskolnikov is a hopeless former university student strategically contemplating murder. He lives inside of his own head and further alienates himself from his community because of this. He wavers between the thought of being the "superior" man and slips into depression once he cannot reconcile with his utter hopelessness. The progression into isolation is more apparent after he commits the murders. Raskolnikov continues to retreat deeper into his own mind and begins to hate all that is around him: "A new overwhelming sensation was gaining more and more mastery over him every moment; this was in immeasurable, almost physical, repulsion for everything surrounding him, an obstinate, malignant feeling of hatred" (92). As he descends further into isolation, we see the detriments this causes: he becomes increasingly paranoid and even physically ill. He exerts characteristics of a madman-whether he is one by definition or not-and can no longer trust himself or anyone. He cannot simultaneously keep these murders a secret and also live a comfortable life in his head; he perpetually tortures himself over the crime. Is this necessarily a destructive process? Could this process, in turn, be considered a beneficial-a method of madness? The conclusion of the novel provides the reader with the resolution of love and redemption, and for this reason, the process is even more important to analyze. Raskolnikov is ultimately submerged in his own pain and suffering which, on a superficial level, can be interpreted as negative and undesirable. Contrarily, Unamuno makes the case that this kind of process is necessary for perpetuation and survival on a spiritual level. In Ilie's words, alienation is a means for achieving ethical goals. It is in loneliness-the filter for external distractions-that introspection is best. Engaging in solitude is necessary for acquiring self-knowledge. Otherwise we would become a mere reflection of those around us (Ilie, 49). Solitude should not be confused as a means to an end. It is important to understand then that this is merely a process that eventually reaps a more favorable outcome (Ilie, 50). To Unamuno, perpetual engagement in solitude would lead to alienation which would render introspection void because introspection helps us understand ourselves and our role in the world among peers. As mentioned earlier, after we demonstrate an understanding of ourselves, we can then begin to understand others: "The pain of our own sorrow may well induce us into a compassion for the sorrow of our fellow man" (Ilie 8-9). Concerning Raskolnikov, his progression from turning inward and wrestling with his psyche over his crime allows him to begin to empathize with Sonia and her "sinful" situation. According to Alba Amoia in her book on Dostoevsky's works, Raskolnikov has respect for Sonia despite her decision to be a prostitute because he sees parallels between then being a murderer himself. He regards himself and Sonia as outcasts in society (Dostoevsky 63). Their love is odd and would not seem logical to those who possess the conventional notion of a love that is flowery, perfect, and unmarred. Raskolnikov even utters to Sonia himself, after he confesses to the murders, "You are a strange girl, Sonia-you kiss me and hug me when I tell you about that…You don't think what you are doing" (334). This love feels illogical even to Raskolnikov. Sonia then cries out to him that "There is no one-no one in the whole world now as unhappy as you!" (334-335). There exists an understanding between suffering and the love that comes to be because of it. Unamuno's philosophy on love explains this unusual but hardly illogical relationship of Raskolnikov and Sonia. In his chapter "Love, Pain, Compassion, and Personality," he describes love as the most tragic thing there is; it is "death's sister" and the only remedy of death. His main philosophy on love is that only true, unrequited love comes out of mutual suffering. While bodies unite through pleasure, souls unite through pain. Raskolnikov and Sonia could only understand each other's woes because they were able to pity one another. This furthers the assumption that a common grief is necessary for humans to connect spiritually. Whoever feels the most compassion loves the most and loves the deepest. Unamuno states that one has to also personalize everything in order to love everything. That is why when a mutual suffering is present, people connect on a more profound level and thus have the ability to love each other on a spiritual level. We see Raskolnikov and Sonia's love become this way at the end of the novel when he falls at her knees and weeps. This action seems odd though it is not devoid of meaning. Pain is the pillar of human existence and Raskolnikov realizes this notion. As Unamuno states, "Suffering is the way of consciousness, and it is through suffering that living beings achieve self-consciousness…In pleasure one forgets oneself, forgets that one exists…" (154). This explains how Raskolnikov is reminded of why he exists; pain has an existential value. Raskolnikov finally experiences redemption at the end of the novel when he realizes that his suffering has brought him closer to Sonia and he is able to love-it is ultimately this love that saves him. As Unamuno says, For in truth, human beings love each other spiritually only when they have suffered the same sorrow, when they have long plowed the stony earth, joined together by the mutual yoke of a common grief. It is then that they know one another and feel for and feel with one another in their common anguish, and pity one another and love one another. For to love means to pity, and, though their bodies are united by pleasure, their souls are united by pain" (149). After being convicted of his murder and sent to Siberia, Raskolnikov is redeemed for his sin and unites with Sonia though pain. His long-awaited redemption and "final integration of his heart, mind, and soul" occurs when Sonia visits him (Amoia 69). It is at this moment when Raskolnikov falls to his knees and weeps at Sonia's feet not understanding what exactly has overcome him. Sonia, though initially frightened, understands this action and "a light of infinite happiness came into her eyes…She knew and had no doubt that he loved her beyond everything and that at last the moment had come" (448). They now realized that love is what renewed their faith in life and in each other. As stated by Amoia, "Raskolnikov is restored to a better, higher, more worthy state and has earned the right to return to the human fold." He is reborn by the miracle of reciprocal love (70). Thorough this challenging process of suffering and alienation, Raskolnikov has finally obtained redemption and forgiveness. Existentialist thought is not favored by all-in fact, it is highly criticized, especially by religious groups who regard it as a bi-product of atheism and agnosticism. Existentialism has often been charged with allowing people to cease the search for solutions for problems-something Sartre calls "desperate quietism" in his book Existentialism and Human Emotions (9). It has also been charged with dwelling on the dark side of human life. Sartre debunks these claims stating that existentialism is "a doctrine which makes human life possible and, in addition, declares that every truth and every action implies a human setting and a human subjectivity" (10). There is a humane factor to existentialism that people overlook due to the popularity of its negative bleak presentation. Through the employment of existential philosophy in The Tragic Sense of Life and Crime and Punishment, the reader recognizes this humanistic quality and understands the necessity of suffering in order to fully empathize and love another human being. Thus, though both books are initially bleak, they offer insight on the human condition and provide the reader with the universally relevant message that though no one is completely devoid of pain, it is though suffering that human beings are able to experience contentment. Works Cited Amoia, Alba. Feodor Dostoevsky. New York: Continuum, 1993. Crowell, Steven. "Existentialism." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2004. Stanford University. 12 December 2006. <http:>. Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. 1866. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1994. Dreyfus, Hubert L. "Existentialism." Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 12 December 2006. < <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555530/Existentialism.html">http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555530/Existentialism.html</a>>. Ilie, Paul. Unamuno: An Existential View of Self and Society. Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1967. Sartre, Jean-Paul. Existentialism and Human Emotions. Secaucus: Citadel, 1957. Unamuno, Miguel. The Tragic Sense of Life in Men and Nations. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1972.</http:></div>

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