Is Everything Permissible if God is Dead?

Do We Really Need God for Morality?

God, as depicted by the painter Vittore Carpaccio

In 1882, Nietzsche stated in his book The Gay Science that “God is dead”. He wasn’t celebrating this fact; in fact, he was quite concerned about it. Dostoevsky, the author of some of the greatest books of all time, was concerned as well. In 1879, he published The Brothers Karamazov, and in it, one of his characters said “If God doesn’t exist then everything is permissible”. These statements were made about 3 years about, which is fascinating. Here we have two of the greatest philosophers of all time — one exclaiming almost reluctantly that “God is dead”, the other saying that “If God doesn’t exist then everything goes”. The question, really, becomes: do we need God for morality?

Dostoevsky and Historical Context

Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of the greatest thinkers of all time (in my opinion, anyway). He touches on the darker aspects of human psychology, along with the lighter sides. He was a Christian, to some people’s surprise because he is usually associated with existentialism. In the book that he battles this idea between, let’s say, religious faith and reason, Russia at this point in history was veering towards socialism.

The Atrocities of the Soviet Union