Article Title

Empty Souls: Confession and Forgiveness in Hegel and Dostoevsky

Authors

Ryan Johnson, Elon CollegeFollow

Abstract

“Towards the end of a sultry afternoon early in July a young man came out of his little room in Stolyarny Lane and turned and in the direction of Kameny Bridge in central St. Petersburg.”[1] Right then, this young man, a former law student named Rodion Raskolnikov, is caught in an agonizing conversation with himself over whether or not to commit the ultimate crime: to murder an innocent person. Exasperated, wondering what to do with such a weighty decision, he cried aloud, “that’s why I don’t act, because I am always talking. Or perhaps I talk so much just because I can’t act.”[2] On this occasion, he decided not to actualize his thoughts, and so kept on pondering. A little later, as he wandered through the dusty streets of the lively St. Petersburg public market, the young man again relapses into contemplation of the character of his existence, its worth, and its meaning. If he ever did decide to commit such evil, the act would determine what kind of man he is. It is a question of the movement from thought to action...

Keywords

Dostoyevsky, Fyodor; Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich

Recommended Citation

Johnson, Ryan (2016) "Empty Souls: Confession and Forgiveness in Hegel and Dostoevsky," Sophia and Philosophia: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://repository.belmont.edu/sph/vol1/iss1/4