Finn

My podcast discusses the philosophical issue of freedom and connectedness in the texts we have read in the course. It begins with an overview of the different religious views of freedom, and some of the contemporary western philosophical inquiries into the subject.

Moving into the texts, I highlight two points in particular. First, how the author formulates the problem of freedom – be it predestination or determinism or nihilism. Second, how does the author answer their question – either directly in the dialog, through metaphor, or imbedded in the plot.

The texts I discuss include:

– Mikhail Lermontov's Hero of Our Time
– Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls
– Fedor Dostoevsky's The Meek One and The Brothers Karamazov

Among these three authors Dostoevsky is the one most concerned with the issue of freedom, formulated in his works as that of free will. Dostoevsky in particular offers the prospect of transcendence – through connection with other people.