Dostoevsky's tendency for the "uncertainty principle": deism and the changing visions of the future of humanity in The Adolescent and Diary of a Writer.
This paper documents Dostoevsky's exposure to, and encounter with, deism in Russian and European public discourses and encompasses the discovery of new sources to his novel The Adolescent (Podrostok). On the basis of hitherto unexplored primary source material, a pattern of indeterminacy is uncovere...
| Publicado en: | Studies in East European Thought Vol. 77; no. 5; pp. 791 - 835 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Springer Nature
Oct2025
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=188713616&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 188713616 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 09259392 GGL jtl: Studies in East European Thought issn: 09259392 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Oct2025 vid: 77 iid: 5 pid: 237 pub: Springer Nature artinfo: ui: 188713616 10.1007/s11212-025-09731-z ppf: 791 ppct: 44 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 1.2MB tig: atl: Dostoevsky's tendency for the "uncertainty principle": deism and the changing visions of the future of humanity in The Adolescent and Diary of a Writer. aug: au: Zohrab, Irene affil: Wellington, New Zealand su: Indeterminism (Philosophy) Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 1821-1881 Psychological fiction Adolescence Diary (Literary form) Philosophical theology Faith Social evolution Europe Russia sug: subj: Europe Russia Indeterminism (Philosophy) Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 1821-1881 Psychological fiction Adolescence Diary (Literary form) Philosophical theology Faith Social evolution keyword: "Golden Age" "Uncertainty principle" Alexander von Humboldt Censorship Communication and Culture Literary Studies Comte Deism Dostoevsky's Podrostok (The Adolescent) English protestantism Enlightenment Future of humanity Heine Herbert of Cherbury Herschel Language New sources Taine Thomas Sherlock Thomas Woolston William Thomson ab: This paper documents Dostoevsky's exposure to, and encounter with, deism in Russian and European public discourses and encompasses the discovery of new sources to his novel The Adolescent (Podrostok). On the basis of hitherto unexplored primary source material, a pattern of indeterminacy is uncovered that characterizes Dostoevsky's belief system, which extends to his literary works, to which the principle of indeterminacy can also be applied. An objective method of hermeneutics is employed to analyse the changing vision of the future of humanity in The Adolescent and some shorter pieces of fiction published in Diary of a Writer in the 1870s, with which the author concludes that deism played a key role in the formation of Dostoevsky's vision of Europe's, Russia's and humanity's future. Concominantly, it reaffirms Dostoevsky's interest in historiography reflected in his intention to discern "future results of present events" (Simonova-Khokhriakova 1990, p. 348). The paper contains some commentary on the persistency with which religious belief, limited to Russian Orthodox Christianity is attributed to Dostoevsky, despite alternative evidence, which is often ignored. It is proposed that the lack of determinacy which attaches to the "message" in Dostoevsky's fictional oeuvre as well as his polemical articles is grounded not only in his desire to avoid censure and be published, but also in his own uncertainty about the possibility of finding "absolute results" in the movement of time; this mirrors the contemporary world of science, just coming into existence during Dostoevsky's epoch in which old assumptions about eternity, immortality, and the existence of God were being challenged. The paper pays attention to Dostoevsky's acquaintance with modern scientific thought that is reflected in the deliberations of his fictional characters. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Studies in East European Thought is a copyright of Springer, 2025. All Rights Reserved. item: Studies in East European Thought holder: Springer Nature dt: @attributes: year: 2025 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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