The irreducibility of guilt in Dostoevsky

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dc.contributor.advisorNielsen, Niels C.en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberHaugh, Richarden_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberKolenda, Konstantinen_US
dc.creatorBridges, James Terrell.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2018-12-18T21:28:35Zen_US
dc.date.available2018-12-18T21:28:35Zen_US
dc.date.issued1980en_US
dc.description.abstractDostoevsky views guilt as a qualitative determination of the person. Guilt's referent is man's personality, his ontological status, and not simply external or conventional judgments. Both the judgment and the chastisement for guilt are internalized in conscience. Dostoevsky placed guilt within a religio-theological context: the religious doctrine of the brotherhood of all men comes both before and after personal involvement in a community of guilt. The oneness of man in Christ is the precondition for communal guilt. The community of guilt presents the possibility for the realization of universal brotherhood. Within this religious context, guilt is taken up as a moment in the dialectic of redemption. Outside of the religious context, guilt is experienced as condemnation. Man becomes conscious of personal guilt and responsibility for evil not primarily through an analogy to the wickedness of others, but through the confrontation with a suffering world. This understanding of guilt is presented forcefully in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov. Dostoevsky's approach to guilt proves to be inapplicable to both law and ethics because of its qualitative, communal, and internal nature. It can, however, have a therapeutic function in psychology because it integrates suffering into a meaningful scheme and summons man to his responsibility. In the last analysis, Dostoevsky's notion of guilt finds its distinctive characteristics within the Christian confession.en_US
dc.format.digitalOriginreformatted digitalen_US
dc.format.extent126 ppen_US
dc.identifier.callnoThesis Reli. 1980 Bridgesen_US
dc.identifier.citationBridges, James Terrell.. "The irreducibility of guilt in Dostoevsky." (1980) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/104684">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/104684</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.digitalRICE2320en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/104684en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.titleThe irreducibility of guilt in Dostoevskyen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentReligious Studiesen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineHumanitiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen_US
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