Mills, Bentham, Hegel, the Utilitarian Theory, and Crime and Punishment
Good morning scholars - or good evening!
Please scroll down to the next post first and read up on Mill, Bentham and Hegel before you read this. It may explain a few concepts.
One interesting concept that Dostoevsky wrestles with is the continual conflict that is waged within the hearts of his characters. The characters seemingly have psychic "doubles" and throughout some of his books, such as CRIME AND PUNISHMENT and THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, some of the characters fall into such states of psychic confusion and disintegration that they are not certain what is real and what is hallucination. Keep in mind that during and after the murder of Alyona Ivanovna, Raskolnikov falls into a feverish dream state where he is not always certain what and who are real. Also keep in mind that Raskolnikov sees signs, omens and portents which he interprets as the universe's "go-ahead sign" to commit the murder: for example, his stumbling upon a conveniently located axe, his stumbling upon a chance encounter between Lizaveta and the hucksters. Would a "superman" need signs and portents to give him permission to commit an audacious act or would he seize the initiative, the moment as his own, unmindful of what the universe wants?
Much of Raskolnikov's inner monologue shows the influence of utilitarianism (scroll down and read the excerpt about the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill who popularized Bentham's theory.) "This philosophy maintains that humans are rational creatures who do good by following their rational self-interest. By submitting to reason, humanity can find its salvation and create utopian societies that feature 'the greatest happiness for the greatest number.' " (Baldwin, page 91.)
A perfect example of utilitarian thinking is shown on page 131 when Pyotr Petrovitch makes the utilitarian claim that society is better served if a man has a full jacket than if he tears his jacket in two and gives the other half to a poor man."...Science now tells us, love yourself before all men, for everything rests on self-interest."
Dostoevsky despises this theory and uses Raskolnikov to disprove the wisdom or efficacy of utilitarianism. An example of this is when Raskolnikov is momentarily overwhelmed by the plight of the exploited teenaged prostitute and is moved by his emotions to do an act of kindness (compassion) to save the girl. However, his actions (his compassion) are hobbled by his intellectual rationalization (utilitarian theory) that a certain percentage of people must fall by the wayside (for example, the teenaged prostitute) so that the majority may thrive.
He does a few feeble, half-hearted attempts to help the girl, but soon gives up (intellectually rationalizing by using Bentham's philosophy that - hey! a certain percentage of girls are going to wind up on the streets anyway so that others don't) and he allows the girl to be exploited by the middle-aged man who's been following her. According to Dostoevsky, this is the inevitable result of utilitarianism - it sanctions selfishness and a "laissez-faire" attitude toward others when action is or should be demanded.
Another example of utilitarianism occurs in the conversation between a student and an officer in the tavern. The student says, "Kill her, take her money, on condition that you dedicate yourself with its help to the service of humanity and the common good...One death, and a hundred lives in exchange - why, it's simple arithmetic!" The student is expressing a tenet of this philosophy by maintaining that individual pain or unhappiness is unimportant if it leads to the happiness of many. It also expresses the result of utilitarianism if carried to its logical extreme.
Please scroll down to the next post first and read up on Mill, Bentham and Hegel before you read this. It may explain a few concepts.
One interesting concept that Dostoevsky wrestles with is the continual conflict that is waged within the hearts of his characters. The characters seemingly have psychic "doubles" and throughout some of his books, such as CRIME AND PUNISHMENT and THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, some of the characters fall into such states of psychic confusion and disintegration that they are not certain what is real and what is hallucination. Keep in mind that during and after the murder of Alyona Ivanovna, Raskolnikov falls into a feverish dream state where he is not always certain what and who are real. Also keep in mind that Raskolnikov sees signs, omens and portents which he interprets as the universe's "go-ahead sign" to commit the murder: for example, his stumbling upon a conveniently located axe, his stumbling upon a chance encounter between Lizaveta and the hucksters. Would a "superman" need signs and portents to give him permission to commit an audacious act or would he seize the initiative, the moment as his own, unmindful of what the universe wants?
Much of Raskolnikov's inner monologue shows the influence of utilitarianism (scroll down and read the excerpt about the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill who popularized Bentham's theory.) "This philosophy maintains that humans are rational creatures who do good by following their rational self-interest. By submitting to reason, humanity can find its salvation and create utopian societies that feature 'the greatest happiness for the greatest number.' " (Baldwin, page 91.)
A perfect example of utilitarian thinking is shown on page 131 when Pyotr Petrovitch makes the utilitarian claim that society is better served if a man has a full jacket than if he tears his jacket in two and gives the other half to a poor man."...Science now tells us, love yourself before all men, for everything rests on self-interest."
Dostoevsky despises this theory and uses Raskolnikov to disprove the wisdom or efficacy of utilitarianism. An example of this is when Raskolnikov is momentarily overwhelmed by the plight of the exploited teenaged prostitute and is moved by his emotions to do an act of kindness (compassion) to save the girl. However, his actions (his compassion) are hobbled by his intellectual rationalization (utilitarian theory) that a certain percentage of people must fall by the wayside (for example, the teenaged prostitute) so that the majority may thrive.
He does a few feeble, half-hearted attempts to help the girl, but soon gives up (intellectually rationalizing by using Bentham's philosophy that - hey! a certain percentage of girls are going to wind up on the streets anyway so that others don't) and he allows the girl to be exploited by the middle-aged man who's been following her. According to Dostoevsky, this is the inevitable result of utilitarianism - it sanctions selfishness and a "laissez-faire" attitude toward others when action is or should be demanded.
Another example of utilitarianism occurs in the conversation between a student and an officer in the tavern. The student says, "Kill her, take her money, on condition that you dedicate yourself with its help to the service of humanity and the common good...One death, and a hundred lives in exchange - why, it's simple arithmetic!" The student is expressing a tenet of this philosophy by maintaining that individual pain or unhappiness is unimportant if it leads to the happiness of many. It also expresses the result of utilitarianism if carried to its logical extreme.
Comments