Fyodor Dostoyevsky Describes The Dark Side Of Humanity Perfectly

The journey to penetrate deep into the suffering of the human soul.

Peter Burns
Lessons from History

--

Photo by Marek Piwnicki on Unsplash

“The wisest of all, in my opinion, is he who can, if only once a month, call himself a fool.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Wisdom is about the ability to call yourself a fool. Thus spoke Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist whose works explored the human condition. His writing style peeked into his characters inner lives, penetrating deep into the darkness of the soul.

Humanity for him was a mystery. One that he spent his entire life studying. Why? Because he wanted to be human.

To study the meaning of man and of life — I am making significant progress here. I have faith in myself. Man is a mystery: if you spend your entire life trying to puzzle it out, then do not say that you have wasted your time. I occupy myself with this mystery, because I want to be a man.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

In a way, Dostoyevsky’s work reflected the principles coming down from Socrates of ancient Greece. Know thyself. The wisest man is the one who knows he knows nothing.

The Russian novelist took it a step further. He asked one fundamental question. Why

--

--

Responses (25)