Existentialism: Fyodor Dostoevsky "The Grand Inquisitor" (Brothers Karamazov)
Gregory B. Sadler on May 15, 2012 In this lecture, I explore some of the key themes, the character, and the narrative of Fyodor Dostoevsky's "Grand Inquisitor" chapter of The Brothers Karamazov. I focus in particular on different understandings of human happiness, the temptations the Devil gave to Christ in the desert, and the range of human goods, showing how the Inquisitor, and perhaps also Ivan, misunderstood Love and Freedom
The Grand Inquisitor is a parable in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov (1879–1880). It is told by Ivan, who questions the possibility of a personal and benevolent God, to his brother Alyosha, a novice monk. The Grand Inquisitor is an important part of the novel and one of the best-known passages in modern literature because of its ideas about human nature and freedom, and its fundamental ambiguity.