The Limits of Idealism: Can Idealism Make Us Free?

Exploring the Concepts of Idealism, Freewill, and Humanism in The Brothers Karamazov

Philosophy of life in ‘The Brothers Karamazov’

“Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.”, Heraclitus

The Brothers Karamazov is perhaps one of the most well respected and deeply philosophical novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It is a thick read with multiple simultaneous ideas and themes incorporated in it, all of which can not obviously be covered by a single blog post. It provides a true mirror of the human condition and the social problems, therefore, it is a must read for building character. This article explores some of the key philosophical insights about idealism, freewill and humanism.

(Very) Brief Summary of ‘The Brothers Karamazov’

The novel narrates the story of a dysfunctional family. These are the central characters in the novel.

• Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov — A land owner, Father of four and a Hedonistic Nihilist.

• Alexei Fyodorovich Karamazov (a.k.a., Alyosha) — Youngest Son, Protagonist, a devout religious character.

• Dmitri Fyodorovich Karamazov, Eldest Son, A reflection of the father.

• Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov — Second Son, an atheist and rationalist.

• Pavel Fyodorovich Smerdyakov  — Illegitimate Son, raised by a servant, disliked, disrespected and treated as a subhuman.

• Father Zosima, — a religious mentor of Alyosha and a revered elder in the household.

• Katerina Ivanovna Verkhovtseva (a.k.a., Katya), — Dimitri’s fiancée, secretly in love with Ivan but is a noble martyr.

• Agrafena Alexandrovna Svetlova (a.k.a., Grushenka), — a 22-year-old fiery, manipulative woman, and a love interest of both the Fyodor and Dimitri.

The father Fyodor has three sons from first marriage and an illegitimate son from out of wedlock. As a person, he is a nihilistic hedonist, who spends his life in pursuits of pleasure, with little to no care for his children. He is the embodiment of the YOLO philosophy.