The Enlightenment Theory and Rationalism - Research Paper Example

The purpose of this paper is to compare between two literary books; "The Gay Science" by Friedrich Nietzsche and "Notes from the Underground" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher, a critic of culture, a poet, composer and a scholar. He has several works which cover areas of religion, morality, culture, philosophy and science. He particularly shows interest in metamorphosis and irony (McKinnon, 203-216). He believed more in the realities of the world and did not believe in the afterlife which is why most of his religious views are considered to be atheistic (handprint.com, Die Götzen-Dämmerung - Twilight of the Idols). He has a long list of contributions such as the Greek music drama, the Greek state, the dawn, Untimely meditation, gay science etc. On the other hand the author of notes from underground; Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky belonged to Russia, he is a short story and essay writer, a journalist and a philosopher. Most of his works are focused towards the human psychology in a disturbed political, social and spiritual surrounding. Unlike Nietzsche, his works are more inclined towards Christianity and its teachings (Scanlan). He has also written a large number of novels such as crime and punishment, the idiot, demons, notes from underground etc. The works of both the authors are focused on realism. The book The Gay Science was written in the year 1882, an era when Christianity was going through a lot of reforms and revivals. It is also known as the first great awakening in America. The 18th century saw the development of Congregationalist, Presbyterian, Baptist and new Methodist churches. The creation of Pietism in Germany also occurred in this era and is considered a part of The Great Awakening (historyworld.net, HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY). Furthermore, it was also an era of enlightenment or era of reason. It was when the British and other European nations started to question the cultural and societal norms that were practiced regularly (history.com, enlightenment). The novel Notes from underground might have been written in response to a novel what is to be done? (1863) is a revolutionary novel written by Chernyshevsky. This era saw many authors who wrote about egoism and that life could be made perfect only by applying the concept of reasoning and enlightening our self interest. Dostoevsky was particularly interested in the rational egoist’s theory which evolved from social liberalism in the year 1840 (Sparksnotes.com, SparkNote on Notes from Underground). Nietzsche writes against the religious reforms and revivals of the era and promotes polytheism and call Christianity as skeptic. The main theme of the book is ‘God is dead’ which is how he mainly criticized the Christian faith (Strongreading.blogspot.com, Strong Reading: Nietzsche, Friedrich - The Gay Science, Preface, Book V). Like Nietzche, friedrich also was against the prevailing egoism in his society which is why he wrote in response to Chernyshevsky who is considered a rational egoist (Sparksnotes.com, SparkNote on Notes from Underground). The book Gay Science is famous because it has given importance to knowledge and art above science and the open declaration that ‘God is dead’ and promotes the idea of everlasting life. The statement ‘God is dead’ can also be stated showing that God was alive before enlightenment, because before enlightenment, everything in Europe and Germany was observed from religious and spiritual points of view whether it be the field of science, knowledge or even wisdom. Everything and anything was seen through God and seeking help with God. There was no self or external discovery and everything was restricted to theism. After the age of enlightenment, the image of God was erased and the concept of reasoning took its place. Nietzsche considers the monks of Buddhism and Christianity as dead because they have given up on every materialistic thing that life has to offer. Nietzsche also believes as this life being the only one and denying the presence of any afterlife. He further questions the old and new testament comparing them both and questioning the possibility as to how the God of old testament that was powerful, vengeful had now turned into a forgiving and kind God in the new testament (Rayme-michaels.blogspot.com, The Ray: The Gay Science Review). Like Nietzsche, Dostoyevsky also writes his novel based on realism and truth and he sketches a rather gritty and untidy picture of the society (Shmoop.com, Notes from the Underground Genre). This book also supports the enlightenment theory and rationalism which was at its height in the mid to late twentieth century. The book revolves around the story of an underground man who is also the central character of the story who speaks against the rational egoist of the decade, and according to the underground man the power of reasoning alone can make the world a better place. The author has also written about the artificiality of the Russian culture and criticizing the ruling class of Russia for mimicking the European culture for year. The author asked for a ‘return to the soil’ which means that the culture of Russia is returned back to the country. The author also says that in previous years when the concept of religion existed people could make decisions with confidence however, when the concept of faith and religion vanished so did the confidence and people were left with the feeling of consciousness, thinking about the outcome of every decision that they make. Here Fyodor Dostoyevsky is again similar to Nietzsche, because he too considers that the concept of religion has now disappeared from the society and he somewhat believes on the concept of ‘God is dead’ which was proposed by Nietzsche (Sparksnotes.com, SparkNote on Notes from Underground). Nietzsche focuses on the aesthetics of the world in which the man survives without the concept of God. This is clearly evident throughout the book. Since he is a philosopher of culture, he is best at criticizing the culture for the development of a higher culture. He has considered everything from a philosophical point of view mentioning terms like earth bound humans, all too human and does (Golomb, Santaniello and Lehrer, 111-112). What makes this piece of work beautiful is the use of the artistic technique of writing. It is how the author promotes the concept of self styling among the Human beings (Wordpress.com, Nietzsches Self-Styling, Or How to Become An Aesthetic Phenomenon). The book Notes from the underground is also based on the aesthetic of a God less world. The novel is organized because it is focused more towards the aesthetics of mimicking and almost completely eliminated the need for theme. The narration is an excellent example of how to expose the underground mans thinking capability and his working pattern. There is not much aesthetic attractiveness in this piece of writing but the level of detail in the book clearly reflects upon the author’s psychology. The book does not have a proper theme which might be a drawback for the readers. The underground man was detached from his family and did not have family or friends around him (Paris, 201-210). A few authors considered this piece of writing as anti aesthetic because it portrays the underground man dealing with the aesthetic definitions on his own with the help of an imaginary audience (Scanlon, Mara, and Chad Engbers, 47). The Gay Science is a marvelous book written by Nietzsche which is based on the topics of morality and realism. It states everything in a clear and realistic way, talking about almost every topic from brining in the concept of faith to writing about consciousness and self consciousness of a human being. The subject of morality is of great interest in this book since humans utilize the concept of morality to feel superior to other. It is considered as a tool to show other of the inferiority. The author has criticized the culture and the society in a comic way while mimicking anti-Semitism, pessimism and Christianity and the God himself (Rayme-michaels.blogspot.com, The Ray: The Gay Science Review). Notes from underground is a book that has a manipulative, monotonous, metaphoric, consisting of multiple layers and at time induces goose bumps which is typical to the writing style of Dostoevsky. Doestoevsky writes about motivation in human being using stylistic tool of persuasion, being comical while criticizing the realities of his era at the same time. He analyzed the hidden truth about the behavior of human beings with the help of perceptive analysis (The guardian, Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky – Review). Both the authors are almost similar in their moral of the story, background and theme with minor difference in their writing styles. Works Cited McKinnon, Andrew M. Metaphors In And For The Sociology Of Religion: Towards A Theory After Nietzsche. Journal of Contemporary Religion 27.2 (2012): 203-216. Web. Nietzsche, Friedrich. Nietzsche : Twilight Of The Idols. Handprint.com. N.p., 1895. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. Scanlan, James P. Dostoevsky The Thinker. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2002. Print. Historyworld.net,. HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. HISTORY.com,. Enlightenment - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.Com. N.p., 2009. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Notes from Underground.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. Brafman, Yonatan. Strong Reading: Nietzsche, Friedrich - The Gay Science, Preface, Book V. Strongreading.blogspot.com. N.p., 2010. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. Rayme-michaels.blogspot.com,. The Ray: The Gay Science (Review). N.p., 2009. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. Shmoop Editorial Team. "Notes from the Underground Genre." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. Golomb, Jacob, Weaver Santaniello, and Ronald Lehrer. Nietzsche And Depth Psychology. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999. Print. Wordpress.com,. Nietzsches Self-Styling, Or How To Become An Aesthetic Phenomenon. N.p., 2013. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. Paris, Bernard J. A Psychological Approach To Fiction. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers Co., 2010. Print. Scanlon, Mara, and Chad Engbers. Poetry And Dialogism. Print. Sethi, Anita. Notes From Underground By Fyodor Dostoevsky – Review. the Guardian. N.p., 2013. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. Read More