28th Annual Student Research Conference
The Phenomenology of Suffering in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment
Alexander M. Stradal
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
Murdering the pawnbroker was a mean which Raskolnikov believed justified his goal of happiness. Prior to the murder, Raskolnikov wanted a better life; he was kicked out of intellectual circles for radical philosophical views, he was financially broke, and his life was nominally meaningless. Still, after carrying out his attack, Raskolnikov's situation becomes worse; he must steel himself as his anxieties begin to manifest physically and psychologically. He has murderer written all over him and he begins to act increasingly suspiciously. Raskolnikov's suffering stems from the existential imperative to make ones own meaning in life, and from the emotions he feels as consequences of his actions. Through an existential and phenomenological reading of Crime and Punishment, not only will a more in-depth understanding of Raskolnikov's motives be revealed, but also, the extent to which his suffering manifests in him and what it drives him to do will also be revealed.
Keywords: Philosophy, Nietzsche, Regression, Germany, Poststructural, Faust, Nazis, Art
Topic(s):English
Philosophy & Religion
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 102-3
Location: VH 1010
Time: 8:30