LITERATURE - Fyodor Dostoyevsky 

When I read 'Crime and Punishment' I got so wrapped into it I called in sick at work to stay home and finish the book.

The guy that saved him from a firing squad was clearly a time traveller.

“Grown-up people do not know that a child can give exceedingly good advice even in the most difficult case.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Idiot

" *Your worst sin is you have betrayed and destroyed yourself for nothing* " - Raskolnikov (Crime & Punishment)

"Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.” ― Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment

This explains why I was drawn to this man's work as a teenager. The despair in accepting inevitable suffering then learning to laugh and still admire the beauty in it anyway.

"'Dostoevsky's dead,' said the citizeness, but somehow not very confidently. 'I protest!' Behemoth exclaimed hotly. 'Dostoevsky is immortal!" - The Master and Margarita

"Why are we still here? Just to suffer." ~Fyodor Dostoevsky

Not gonna lie, I'd watch an hour version of this video.

I love mankind, he said, "but I find to my amazement that the more I love mankind as a whole, the less I love man in particular. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

I want to learn Russian to be able to read his original amazing novels

2021 will mark the 200th birthday of this legendary writer. Let's celebrate Dostoyevsky by reading/re-reading more of his work and introducing it to others.

Dostoevsky's books are truly amazing . The biggest reason why I learn Russian .

crime and punishment is definitely one of the best books in history

‘Crime and Punishment’ is the only book in my life as a reader that I turned around and immediately reread as soon as I had finished it. This dude was one HELL of a great writer. I’ve since moved on to other works of his, but C n P holds a special place in my heart and probably always will.

When you read dostoevsky you think. Whoa hang on a minute how does this bloke who died ages ago know me no other author has hit me this hard pure genius

There is so much more to The Brothers Karamazov than The Grand Inquisitor, that’s just one chapter in a 700 page book!!!

"We want happiness but we have a special talent of making ourself miserable" (c)Dostoevsky

I read 'The Brothers Karamazov back to back in two days lying in my bed getting up only to pee and shit. Not a single minute wasted. One of my uncle entered the room, I was focused in my reading, then I heard his voice. I remember exactly what he said ' Is that The Brothers Karamazov, I showed him the title page, he just turned around and left my room.' next day after finishing the book I went out to smoke and felt everyone's eyes over me and then I heard someone telling someone 'This guy has read The brothers Karamazov and he's so young' haha I smiled because I knew there were so many books yet to read.

Its also worth mentioning that the messenger who “saved” Dostoyevsky from execution was given explicit orders from the Tsar to not intervene until the last possible moment. So it wasnt like fate saved Dostoyevsky, the Tsar just wanted to scar the prisoners before “saving” them.

My favorite author.

That's not the theory in Crime and Punishment. Raskolnikov had a view of humanity as being divided into two groups: the great men who are allowed to violate morals (like Napoleon), and the normal people may are not allowed to violate them. He did consider himself as one of the former group. But here's the catch: the former group, like Napoleon, never felt bad about what they did. Yet when Raskolnikov murders the women, he could not help but feel bad. And that's what haunted him; that he is actually part of the second group and therefore he really was wrong to kill them. Even at the very end he says he still holds to his theory. Yet Dostoevsky makes a point that is a lot more subtle. In the last chapter "life replaced theory": Raskolnikov simply let go of his reasoning around this and simply accepted that he is wrong without explanation. This may or may not be illogical, but the point is that life, true life, surpasses all of these theories which drive you to these horrific acts. As he said in one of his works - and make of it what you wish - is that if it could be shown that Christ is outside of truth, then he would still side with Christ. It is this deeper reality that he was concerned with. Also, he wasn't motivated in his murder for any selfish reasons, that he somehow deserved the money because he is "better". Raskolnikov was very altruistically motivated: use the money to get an education and then help people, use the money at the moment to help people. Selfishness is one trait he didn't have. He was constantly motivated to help others even though he appeared extremely morose. He wanted to help his sister, the prostitute, her father, the average person.

My favourite of Dostoyevsky's work is the short story 'The dream of a ridiculous man', I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get into his works without commiting fully to an entire book.

Why didn’t you said anything about Demons? 😭 Don’t get me wrong, still a gorgeous look at Dostoyevski’s literature

I wish I had these programs available when I was going to school.

It is so cruel to speak about such a man in just ten minutes. The good part is that people who don't know who he is will be introduced to one of the greatest writers humanity has produced, a man of whom Nietzsche said "he is the only psychologist from which I learned something" and Einstein "Dostoevsky gives me more than any scientist. More than Gauss." Wonderful channel!

i read his books and and I don't smile anymore. "Man is sometimes extraordinarily passionately in love with suffering"

Dostoyevsky is the most brilliant author of fiction that ive ever come across.

Dostoyevsky already was a writer before the siberian exile. He wrote his first novel, Poor People, with 24 years old. Before Siberia he yet wrote other great books, like White Nights.

Я счастлива, что родилась в такой стране, где жили такие величайшие люди, такие как Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский. Бесконечная благодарность и низкий поклон. Браво! Thank you Fedor Mikhailovich!

"I was looking for a job, and then i found a job, and heaven knows i'm miserable now". The greatest thing is the journey, the excitement is in making a goal, we don't REALLY mean what we say, nor REALLY want what we persue.

Dostoryevsky is my favorite literary author. His books touch the heart and soul of life in a way that no other book does, and you cannot help but find yourself drawn in

"Life is effort, and I'll stop when I die!"

One of the greatest writers imo. He can be seen as an existentialist writer but his brilliance is his insight into the human mind and behavior. And his wisdom that utopia is a fantasy and that happiness can only happen as a quest with each individual on life's journey.

That last minute reprieve was actually a common tactic back then for political prisoners. The idea being that it would provoke gratitude and loyalty for the Czar.

I SWEAR TO GOD, HE IS THE GOAT! Can't wait to read all his works!!!!

Didn't Raskolnikov kill those women with an axe?

And I know the Brothers Karamazov is a lot to summarise, but the Grand Inquisitor - though excellent on its own (everyone should read it) - is by far not an adequate representation of the book itself. It is one chapter in an 800 page book that almost seems out of place. It is more a work on three brothers dealing with the murder of their father: a passionate and wasteful poet of a man, the sceptical agnostic brother, and the pious, good, religious brother. It is these three bouncing off each other. The Grand Inquisitor is Ivan, the agnostic, telling the story to Alyosha, the religious one. This changes the whole dynamic: the Grand Inquisitor is just one point in Ivan's overall point against Christianity in a discussion with his brother. The Brothers Karamazov is much larger than that.

A truly wise man. No wonder the Russians eventually sainted him. He's a quintessential expression of Russia's split personality: holiness on the one hand, rascality on the other. Basically, an ability to see deeply into the absurd and sacred duality of life, and every human soul. As I'm sure Solzhenitsyn would also agree.

When i first got my hands on crime and punishment my father was reluctant. He said "it's very philosophical. I don't know if you'll like it very much". I got it anyways and couldn't go farther than a 100 pages because of how deeply it affected me. I haven't felt so much melancholy since. I wouldn't recommend the book to someone who's suicidal but once you're not so adamant to prove that you are worthless, definitely give it a read. To some people reading such characters makes them feel thankful for what they have, but for me it just made me paranoid the first time i tried reading it. I got waaaaay too scared that i'd also end up on the streets if i don't top every exam ever. But once i kinda got over that fear i read it and loved it. Finished it in less than 4 days which at that time was a personal record!

Dostoevsky Oh, Dostoevsky My heart’s on fire She just wanna talk about Dostoevsky I even changed the bedsheets I'd love you if you'd let me But all damn night She just wanna talk about Dostoevsky All these Russian writers I don't even know Oh, Dostoevsky, tell me Why won't she let you go? ~Scott Helman~

Make one about Gogol !

One of my favorites novelists! Yeah he is, and bcz of him I started a course of Russian

Reading Dostoevesky gives me delirium and I love it 😆😆

My favourite section in C&P is with Porfiry and Rodion talking, Porfiry all fuckin with his head

Fyodor Dostoevsky is my favourite author. Thank you for making this video!

These people from the past are so deep and dark, it’s frightening

Dostoevsky is my favorite author.

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR DOSTOEVSKIJ SO LONG OMG THANK YOU

Reading Dostoevsky's books were such torture. But it left me satisfied and I'm never disappointed, the thing I like about Russian novels are they teaching us about the realest of reality, hit the nail on our head. I've read Crime and Punishment for about 5 times and I still found new things, but I read it 3 times in English and 2 in Russian. And believe me it is really different, there are chapters that pleasant to read in English but there are chapters that great in Russian too because the choice of words.

I actually love how they started the video off by giving us advice on how to pronounce his name 😂👌

I dislike reading novels because it is hard for me to grasp all of its meaning and try to interpret it myself. But I really enjoyed crime and punishment and surprisingly managed to finish the book in one sitting, something that I didn't think I could do because I'm a slow reader. The book is so wonderfully written that I immerse myself so deep in it to the point where I see myself in Raskolnikov character and understand him and all of his struggle and moral dilemma so deeply. Can't wait to read more books from Dostoyevsky.

I have been waiting for this video for quite some time now, thank you school of life!

Hello from Russia! If you liked Dostoyevsky you could also read Bulgakov!

“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.” ~ Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

Beautifully done! Thank you, School of Life, for making this excellent teaching/video!

The Idiot isn't about that! The title is an ironic reference to the central character of the novel, Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin, a young man whose goodness and open-hearted simplicity lead many of the more worldly characters he encounters to mistakenly assume that he lacks intelligence and insight. In the character of Prince Myshkin, Dostoevsky set himself the task of depicting "the positively good and beautiful man".The novel examines the consequences of placing such a unique individual at the centre of the conflicts, desires, passions and egoism of worldly society, both for the man himself and for those with whom he becomes involved. I disagree what you have said about The Idiot.But Thanks for this video

I've been waiting for this some time now! Thank you.

Coming back to School of Life’s lessons after all these years, made me more appreciative for its intellectual contents much as for its aesthetics illustrations, much more than I thought I would be. Like damn, I was learning all of this?

I have to call out the atheistic motives of School of Life. This channel makes the illusion of being neutral, but even the existence and deep importance of God, which Dostoyevsky oriented his life and work around, was hardly touched on in this video. Dostoyevsky went much deeper than this, developing the belief that God was crucial to the soul and spirit.

OMG! Yesss, this is a gift from heaven!

Dostoevsky often wrote about politics esp liberals i.e., social evolutionists. His words are just as meaningful today. In "Diary of a Writer," which was published more than a hundred years ago, contains this reminiscence: “‘Do you know,’ Belinsky screeched one evening (sometimes, if he was very excited, he would screech) as he turned to me, ‘Do you know that man’s sins cannot be counted against him? . . . When society is set up in such a mean shion . . . man cannot help but do wrong; economic factors alone lead him to do wrong; and it is absurd and cruel to demand from a man something the very laws of nature make it impossible for him to carry out, even if he wanted to.’” Thus Belinsky is espousing his delight in the liberal view. This view expressed by Belinsky is that we are the products of social engineering and thus constructed by our environment. This is the heart of all schemes for an earthly redemption, and the antithesis of freedom. It is the philosophy, as Dostoevsky put it, of an anthill. In his Diary, he answered Belinsky: “In making the individual dependent on every flaw in the social structure, . . . the doctrine of the environment reduces the subject to an absolute non-entity, exempting him totally from every personal moral duty and from all independence, reduces him to the lowest form of slavery imaginable.”" I have yet to find a more meaningful decription of the dangers in completely doing away with personal responsibility and that we are all born with both bad and good traits. This is exactly why earthly utopia will never be achieved!

Nobody can describe and look deep into Slavic soul as Dostoyevsky can.Greatest of all time

I love this channel SO MUCH. Thank you.

Dostoyevsky is my favorite author and I have read The Idiot and Brothers Karamazov. A great man of suffering and faith. All human beings suffer indeed, and so, we must accept that the world cannot solve all our selfish ambitions and that we meet that bleak end. I also love when stories end in tragedy like his because there is nothing more real than that.

One of my favorite writers.

I love this videos! I have the complete compilations from almost all the famous writers you made de videos about! I like knowing about the writer while reading, it makes for an even better comprehension of how and why they write and how to read them!

This is the most insightful video about Dostoyevsky I have ever seen on RU-vid. I have watched numerous videos about one of my favorite authors - a man whose books make me put them down to cry every so often while I'm immersed in one of them. So many RU-vid short video commenters fail to understand the loving and inherent relationship Dostoyevsky has with institutional Christianity. Dostoyevsky, along with Dickens, are the signature Christian writers of the 19th century and neither should be viewed without reference to church and how church informs the daily existence of its individual members. Many critics, who were suckled by the milk of secularism, have a blind spot to the value that the Cross offers to all of humanity. That value is simple: we are all going to suffer; why not unite it to something meaningful? You found that message in Dostoyevsky, which is what this great mind wanted us to find.

TBH the insights of "The Grand Inquisitor" are more varied and different than what is presented here, but I know The School of Life has a deep aversion to trying to understand religion on its own terms so I didn't expect a thorough explication. Also there's more to Dostoyevksy's greatest novel (Brothers Karamozov) than one chapter in the middle of the book, however profound and arresting it is. Also there are very specific spiritual, political, and religious ideas being explored in the Idiot other than naive wonderment i.e. Myshkin as Christ in Western society and the incongruities and surprising compatibilities that emerge. This is only an introduction to themes in his works though so maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.

YES! - this is my favourite RU-vid channel! Brilliant as ever. Cheers Alain!

First time hearing about him. Happy to say we have a lot in common. I too faced my death and was brought back. I was an idiot for a spell but still I’m not the same. I love everybody

I have a collection of Dostoyevsky's books to read in brand new paperback. I have read Brothers Karamazov 2/3 the way through, and find it fascinating, and can't wait to attack the rest. I'm not religious, or perhaps I just didn't realise that I am, thanks to this amazing writer and thinker.

Your literature-orientated videos are the best. Any chance you'd consider making a video on Harlan Ellison? I'd sure love to see that. Besides being one of the most important and influential writers of his time, he has lived a truly fascinating life filled with all sorts of strange and wonderful adventures.

Thank you, School of Life. I read even "what is art?" from Tolstoy after watching your video. I'm going to read every russian master you recommend ^^

Do you realize, my dear sir, do you realize what it means for a person to have nowhere to go? "

when it comes to Fyodor Dostoevsky, it is not " Hold my Beer " but " HOLD MY WHISKY ". he is the number one writer from here to eternity. what a writer !!!!!!!! wooooooo wahhhhh. i can talk on Dostoyevsky life cycles after life cycles after life cycles and never get bored or tired. see chapter nine of the Brothers Karamazov when ivan talk to a devil, then, you,ll know who is Dostoyevsky. and if this is not enough , then see the dialogue between Porfiry petrovich the police officer and the hero Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment. ALWAYS IN LOVE WITH DOSTOYEVSKY..ALWAYS.

It was worth being cyrogenically frozen for over two hundred years to watch this ! Well done.

Great work! Please consider making a video about Viktor E. Frankl

The part about "The Idiot" is helping me understand so much about myself. I almost died from being addicted to drugs. And right before it (my life) ended I got the help I needed to get clean. Haven't used for close to 15 years now but this experience had made me very positive about life in general. It also makes me a little naive and out of touch with reality from time to time. I am eternally grateful for my new (way of) life but I still have alot to learn. This channel has been immensely helpful to me and many others who I am constantly sharing these videos with. Are there perhaps any plans to bring The School of Life to South Africa? I ask this because I've become heavily involved in "community/service work" and the low level of emotional intelligence that pervades our many cultures (here) is simply astounding. I believe that thinkers and scholars like yourselves can actually effect real (positive) change in this world. Even if it's just one problem/person/family/community/region/country at a time:) Please come to South Africa or even Africa. We will be honored to have you!

Currently, Dostoyevsky is in a high security prison with Osamu Dazai, and they're both utter geniuses who communicate with each other using codes that no one else can understand. This was just a reference to the manga of Bungou Stray Dogs, and not intended to offend anyone. Both the real Dazai and Dostoyevsky were literary geniuses, and BSD is one of my favourite manga/anime series, so I couldn't help leave this comment here.

"Life is a process of changing the focus on pain, never of removing pain itself". This is really close to Pascal's divertissement and the idea of the thinking reed.

Great exposition! Although you're missing one book which is the short-story "Dream of a Ridiculous Man" after you read this one, it's impossible to look at yourself as the way you used to do it previously.

I am reading crime and punishment and it's a digital book so I am literally,eating while reading, walking while reading it and even in bathroom. It's so intriguing and yet encouraging that one cannot stop reading

5:43 “Raskolnikov was also desperate or money”. I grew up poor and half of my childhood was spent fantasizing about toys & clothes my friends had & I didn’t. I understand what poverty means. Ironically, and exactly opposite to Raskolnikov, I remember hoping my older sister marries a rich guy who would buy me stuff. This sentence about Raskolnikov is such an understatement, if you read his mother’s letter to him at the beginning of the book you realize the psychological torture he was being subjected too is far worse than anything you can imagine when you think of poverty. It’s either that Dostoevsky experienced the most intense emotions you can imagine and so he was able to express it in his novels, or he was so creative he was able to express the tragedy of life better than anybody who has experienced it.

*Dostoyevsky is a great writer* 👌 *Im an Arab and I love his books very much* 📚

4:00 suffering is like a Tetris match once you solve a level it disappears and the next level above takes its place.

It is so pleasant and unexpected to see all of this enthusiastic comments about the Russian author! As a Russian I can say that we read all of this books at schools ( also Tolstoy, Chekhov and Bulgakov as well). And also my name is Fyodor too, so it makes reading Dostoevsky’ books more enjoyable))

One of my favorite authors of all time.

Thank you Dostoevsky for reality; suffering and pain can be transcended with work, Science will save us all, technology will assist along with the arts. The book crime and punishment, underground notes, the idiot are moral teachers towards self and society. Being gentle with oneself for making mistakes, shortsighted, and overcoming is a long journey from the head to the heart.

I have been waiting for this so long

Finally a video without nerving MUZAK to disturb the words of the narrator . THANK YOU.

Listening to the beautiful voice of Alain de botton makes the most challenging subject matter accessible.

I am not embarrassed to say I learnt about him from an Anime-

The interpretation of the grand inquisitor scene is horrifyingly inaccurate and misleading. I appreciate the overview and for the most part the analysis is enlightening, however, the notion that the grand inquisitor is to be seen having the winning argument with Christ concerning human nature is downright demonic. The Father Zossima / Alyosha characters are meant to be a counter-weight to the grand inquisitor's / Ivan's analysis of human nature as essentially banal. Dostoyevsky rejected the simple atheistic / nihilistic explanations of human nature emerging in intellectual discourse (see Demons) which he had first hand knowledge of, and returned to to his Christian faith - acknowledging that it is only through the redemptive power of Christ that the human soul can find cohesion (sort of like Neo and Smith in the Matrix - Christ is the counterweight to radical evil). To imply Dostoyevsky used the grand inquisitor as a device to showcase a more enlightened view of human nature is precisely missing the point. The grand inquisitor is never rebutted by Christ, but instead, is given a kiss on the cheek (Judas) which symbolizes Christ's wisdom in accepting the reality of evil while still loving and fighting for the good. It should be noted The Brother's Karamozov was intended to the the first book of a trilogy, and many critics point out that the failure of the novel as a stand alone is the characters portraying the dark aspect of human nature overpower the hero characters meant to represent Christianity and redemption. If he had not died and been able to complete the trilogy I imagine this interpretation would have been more effectively articulated.

I'm so thankful to you for making this video, really. I couldn't read books for a while because I have an exam coming up and I truly forgot how i loved reading dostovsky's works before and what they made me realize. I only had a few minutes to spare and you helped me remember them in that time. Thank you

Camus, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Dostoevsky are all so seemingly unafraid in exposing a devastating truth.

Достоевский гений...я счастлив что могу его читать в оригинале!есть художественный сериалхудожественный советовую всем кто интересуется его биографией

Li uns livros dele. Me sentir penetrar no mundo russo. No nacionalismo. Nas revelações da mazelas humanas. Nas consequências de um pátrio estado. Omisso.

This video was one of the reasons I got inspired to start reading Dostoyevsky.

I really enjoyed his short story "White Nights". I found the themes of loneliness and emotional limerance very relatable especially with what I am going through right now in my own life.