Apologija dobra u Poemi o Velikom inkvizitoru F. M. Dostojevskog

 

Izlaganje je posvećeno mogućem tumačenju poglavlja Veliki inkvizitor iz romana Braća Karamazovi F. M. Dostojevskog. Taj odlomak, koji bi bez poteškoća mogao funkcionirati i kao samostalno književno djelo, opisuje susret Krista i njegovog poznog, pobunjenog »sljedbenika«. U izlaganju svoje »poeme« Ivan Karamazov oslikava oštru razliku između načela dobra i zla – na ravni etike, socijalne ontologije, psihologije i metafizike. Pritom dolazi do izražaja piščeva dosljedna obrana dobra, sadržana u brižljivom prikazu nenasilnog, bezglasnog odgovora na pritisak autoriteta, težnje da se zadobije vlast nad savješću i da se suspendiraju osobne i društvene slobode. Veliki inkvizotor je personifikacija volje za odsutnim Bogom i otuđenom, autonomnom imitacijom teonomnog poretka. Poema ukazuje na ograničenosti i zamke takvog pothvata. Paradoksalno zasnivanje dobra u ime Boga, ali bez Boga i njegovog opominjućeg obličja, neminovno se pretvara u svoju suprotnost. U neslobodu i zlo.

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Apology of Good in F. M. Dostoyevsky's Poem of the Grand Inquisitor

 

My lecture is devoted to the possible interpretation of the chapter The Grand Inquisitor from the novel The Brothers Karamazov by F. M. Dostoyevsky. This chapter, which could easily be read as a separate literary work, describes the encounter between Christ and his late, rebellious „follower“. In the presentation of his „poem“, Ivan Karamazov depicts a sharp difference between the principles of good and evil - on the level of ethics, social ontology, psychology and metaphysics. At the same time, the writer's consistent defense of the good comes to the fore, which is reflected in a careful presentation of a non-violent, silent response to the pressure of authority, the tendency to gain power over the conscience and to suspend personal and social liberties. The Grand Inquisitor is the personification of the will for an absent God, as well as for an alienated, autonomous imitation of the theonomic order. The poem points to the limitations and pitfalls of such endeavors. Paradoxical foundation of good in the name of God, but without God and his admonishing appearance, inevitably turns into its opposite. Into unfreedom and evil.

 

Questions

1. What is the relationship between individual and institutional responsibility, and how, in the context of this problem (and with the related issue of freedom), can we understand the concept of good?

2. The limit of the projectivity of good: is the projectivity of good the adequate way to achieve it?

3. The (im)possibility of reconciling good and non-violence in the earthly world? Pro et contra.

 

Selected Literature

 

Достоевский, Ф. М. Братья Карамазовы. Собрание сочинений, т. 11. и 12. Москва: Мир книги, 2008.

Pattison, G. (ed.). Dostoevsky and the Christian Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Guardini, Romano. Religiöse Geltalten in Dostojewikijs Werk. München: Kösel, 1977.

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