Dostoevsky - Why Men Go Underground

[@Fiction_Beast]

My e-book on Dostoevsky and all his major works ko-fi.com/s/d6ca4e2115

[@DelaTheCynic]

This novel absolutely floored me the first time I read it. I spent the first 5 chapters completely relating to the underground man and his inability to socialize and relate to the rest of human society because of their ignorance. Then I got to chapter 6 and realized he was making fun of people like me the whole time lollll

[@johngoldsworthy7135]

That made me smile. Dostoyevsky is a genius. Really captures the alienation so many modern men experience

[@ArturoGarzaID]

What book are you referring to?

[@johngoldsworthy7135]

@@ArturoGarzaID Notes from the underground

[@tanguero_]

I had the same experience!!!

[@coreycox2345]

Brilliant of the author, though@@tanguero_

[@patrickegan6750]

Its chilling how similar I feel to the Underground Man. it blew my mind wide open reading it. I'm an alcoholic, I fully admit. But I dont feel contempt for society, but rather shame for how criminal and awful I've been due to society's rejection of me. The guilt has torn me to pieces over time, until I cannot handle it any longer. I'm extremely aware of my problems, and I try as much as I can so fix all of them, but the guilt is so heavy I cannot help but drink to survive. But maybe my idea of survival is simply coping. I dont know. Thank the Lord for this man though.

[@jimdavis8391]

Why should you feel that you have to live up to some societal norms? I understand how you feel and share some of your concerns, however I feel no guilt whatsoever. I am simply correct and the prevailing zeitgeist is wrong. I know there are thousands more like me. Take action and live.

[@Coffeeandacigarette]

If you want to experience a life free from the obsession that comes with the first drink, freedom is possible. I hope you find a solution as well. 👍

[@Th3BigBoy]

If you know the Lord. Ask Him for strength. I was freed from a drug addiction and an awful temper by doing so. Perhaps He will free you as well, friend.

[@razorknight92]

It's ironic, you feel guilt over your alcoholism, and that guilt subdues you. The guilt of your subjugation drives you to further drink. May God help you! Try to find a way to cope with your insufficiency and find forgiveness to escape your cycles of guilt. Can't we find freedom by being enslaved to Christ?

[@kevinbissinger]

Stop trying to fix yourself. You can't fix that which is not broken. You will fail. Accept and love yourself unconditionally. The rest of the dominos will fall once you can do that.

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

Michael Katz is the best translator. I contacted him and he was happy to answer questions, even gave me an advanced copy of an introduction he was working on for brothers Karamazov - he captures the humor perfectly, and he never compromises

[@philtheo]

Same with me! 😊 Katz graciously gave me some of his time and answered my questions, too. He's working on The Idiot now. I hope his translations of all Dostoevsky's major works (i.e. The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, Notes from Underground, Devils, and hopefully someday soon The Idiot) replace Pevear and Volokhonsky as the academic and popular standard. Katz is a far better translator than P&V, his translations are more faithful to the underlying text as well as more readable, with lively flow, really getting to the heart of Dostoevsky. The only other translators who are as good as Katz are Oliver Ready if one prefers British English (Katz is American), but Ready only has only translated Crime and Punishment; Ignat Avsey but he's more idiomatic than Katz which tends to skew away from the Russian text, and Avsey only did The Brothers Karamazov and The Idiot, I believe; and perhaps Constance Garnett but she's quite dated since she was published over a century ago, though there have been beautiful revisions of her work, such as Susan McReynolds's The Brothers Karamazov, which are worth reading.

[@jeffseng6385]

I really enjoyed this video. The phrase that we are burying our traditions with our own hands in the name of change and progress sums up our collective experience in the present as well.

[@jeepnj2502]

"Busily engaged in heaping up our own funeral pyre" from another great thinker

[@eyes9596]

That’s quite literally progression. Not everyone is in favor of current traditions. The only issue now is the people okay with the status quo don’t want to change nor adapt.

[@Michael-it7nx]

@@eyes9596it’s quite literally the opposite. It’s not progression , it’s rotting

[@bioliv1]

I love real subtitles, makes it all so much easier for non-native English speakers, and with kids around. Automatic generates subtitles are just stressful.

[@Fiction_Beast]

I try to add subtitles to all my videos but sometimes too busy lol

[@Sachie465]

Not only what the protagonist says but how he says it demonstrates the author’s thesis ‘Consciousness is a disease.’ This novella marked the turning point for the five great novels that made Dostoevsky one of the greatest writers of the world, not just of 19th century Russia. Maybe I read this novel too young. I only remember it as a confession of a pitiful, self-conscious man. Listening to your review, I feel it’s much more than that. He is wrestling with psychology that is so modern.

[@jessemcelroy2019]

You weren’t wrong in your initial observations but as with everything else in life there is much more to it

[@william6223]

Consciousness is not a disease. Awareness and free will are useful and necessary for living a life. Desire and action are not evil. We are not inherently sinful. We are irrational and a place amongst many where interdimrnsionality, convergence, eternity and infinity meet. Proper proportionality is key. And some sort of steadfast honesty is about the best one may seek as an anchor. Many go to extremes, sometimes merely for succinctness.

[@sabthemusicnerd4541]

Hey man I just wanted to say that I recently started watching your videos and I'm absolutely in love with them,I've always been a big fan of Russian literature and Russian culture in general and your videos provide so much beautifully in depth information about those topics. I really appreciate your work and effort. All the best for future videos,love from India.

[@Fiction_Beast]

That’s so nice of you. It means a lot.

[@trinacorbett4827]

I feel exactly the same way. Thank you for saying this so beautifully.

[@Bankrollai]

00

[@lindagarland5223]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Thank you.

[@TR4R]

@@Fiction_Beast I dunno if you'll ever read this, the mistake Dostoevsky makes is so obvious that is almost childish. The feeling of loneliness, resentfulness and defeat is a product of social incomprehension, in a context where he believes in Western rationality defended by authors nobody reads in feudal Russia and their ideas are taken as a joke. His proposition to somehow embrace irrationality, i.e. tradition and religion can also be dangerous, that's basically post-Communism Russia, but the underlying culture didn't change that much anyway, and I mean, during the centuries.

[@freestyle5305]

Damn, that's good. I'm a big fan of classical literature, which taught in our schools. I have read most of Dostoevsky's works, as well as several biographies of literary critics, and of course, his notes - "A Writer's Diary". I recommend Mikhail Bakhtin's book "The Problem of Dostoevsky's Poetics". I also read articles from the magazine "Dostoevsky and World Culture. Philological Journal". The material is also translated into English. And I'm glad to know what the great culture of my ancestors is interesting to non-Russian speakers. We have the opportunity to enjoy brilliant ideas from Russian (and other national) literature. Keep it up. Greetings from Russia!

[@Fiction_Beast]

I really appreciate your comment. I love Russian literature, mainly 19th century writers.

[@alkaloitongbam6684]

I really love and adore your videos. They dive deeply into the subject matter but again not excessive enough to distort the reality of the subject. Thank you so much for this video.

[@trinacorbett4827]

I really appreciate your videos and how perfect your commentary is. Thank you.

[@Fiction_Beast]

You’re welcome.

[@MillennialMoneyMindset]

This was brilliant. Thanks so much for your work on this video

[@Fiction_Beast]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ohraisins]

The wisest content I've come across on youtube. Thanks so much for this!

[@ReynaSingh]

Keep up the good work you’re doing on this channel. These videos are great

[@Fiction_Beast]

I appreciate that!

[@divinegon4671]

Where is my sandwich??? I’ve been asking for a while now. You and I watch the same type of subject matter.

[@carbon1479]

12:45 - Some of this makes me wonder if Dostoevsky was a bit on the spectrum. I hadn't really heard the hints before but being hyper self-aware, self-loathing, etc., those things tend to be travel partners with other things like not instinctively speaking or thinking like others or having instinctively appropriate affect and thus having to pick it all up from first principles and constantly monitor whether affect is working.

[@adwaitkarmarkar7983]

Addicted to your videos, narration is soo good!

[@Fiction_Beast]

Wow, thanks!

[@newvan87]

One correction, Lenin or his party didn't overthrew the tsar, he overthrew provisional government in October revolution. Tsar was overthrown during February bourgeois revolution.

[@olliefoxx7165]

Lenin and the Communist overthrew the Tsar and murdered his family along with millions of innocent people. Rewriting history doesn't change what happened. The communist killed tens of millions of people during their oppressive reign.

[@user-kehakvajbfk78646]

Thank you for the wonderful content. Truly appreciate your work!

[@714acedeck]

its interesting how early on technology, and its attendant social change, is making men unhappy, and we maybe didn't even notice it was happening until school shooters started appearing in the 1990s.

[@MichelPham-z2x]

Thank-you so much for this excellent analysis

[@LividImp]

There is a great song called "Song from Under the Floorboards" by the band Magazine that is about this novel.

[@JayTX.]

Thanks I'll check it out

[@mitchwarl8]

Your introduction revisited one of my experiences, but in my case, the person who was a girl's uncle, I showed respect for to, on my way to see this girl. I was surprised to see him in my girl's house, but he only spoke good things about me

[@JackFate518]

Lenin and his Bolshevik party did not overthrow the tsar. The tsar was overthrown in the February 1917 revolution. Lenin returned from exile in Switzerland more than a month after the tsar abdicated. Lenin did not lead a revolution, but a coup that overthrew the provisional government despite having relatively little public support -- which is why one of Lenin's first actions was cancelling elections.

[@Fiction_Beast]

Good point but they were quick to take over tho

[@Morec0]

Well I'll be lol, they don't teach us that.

[@ObeySilence]

If you wanna understand what the current Russian Zeitgeist is read "Notes from the Underground".

[@maxim.j22]

Yes. I am russian and I am agree

[@ozymandiasultor9480]

If you wanna understand what the current American Zeitgeist is read "War is a Racket".

[@ObeySilence]

@@ozymandiasultor9480 Thanks for the recommendation.

[@ObeySilence]

@@maxim.j22 It also reflects very well the mind of a lot of people living in Eastern Germany.

[@muzamilbux5342]

What do you mean by musjid al shaitan, you interest me

[@OccamsRazor393]

Excellent video!! The beginning was Beautiful to hear, as I'm only an English reader/speaker, Thank You!

[@Fiction_Beast]

Wonderful!

[@ashxsh]

Thank you for this video. You have opened a door for me.

[@klatis84]

omg. I am the underground man. Every word hit perfectly the spot

[@HarperSanchez]

When society has no need for a man, the man finds his place elsewhere.

[@grantshearer5615]

Alot of the great minds in history seem to wish they werent so smart. I dont like to brag unless it's in jest. But its comforting and terrifying to have all these thoughts myself, then see them reflected by these men that I hold so far above myself. Comforting that, I'm not so alone. Terrifying in that so many came before and could not find a way out. It's like following your own footsteps through the wilderness, unable to deviate from the path prescribed

[@ninjahammers]

He thinks the officer doesn't notice things, but when youre a smart successful man, you notice things but don't show it unless you want the person to feel some sort of way.

[@antarasinha8639]

It was great listening to you. Thank you so much. Greetings from India. 🙏🙋

[@Fiction_Beast]

Thank you! I get more viewers from India lately. Maybe Dostoevsky is getting popular there.

[@SuperMegabits]

Im here before your channel explodes! Amazing content!

[@Fiction_Beast]

You really think so? Appreciate it.

[@SuperMegabits]

@@Fiction_Beast i do man, it's super professional and educational, keep it up!

[@JSTNtheWZRD]

Best translator out now of all is "Katz". He understands D. pretty well. I spoke with him and we agree he is a dark comedian

[@Saber23]

Good to see you were able to remake this video it sucks the original got taken down but we keep moving forward 🙏❤️

[@Fiction_Beast]

It was your comment that made me do it again.

[@Saber23]

@@Fiction_Beast really? Glad to hear I could offer some advice much love my guy ❤️🙏

[@hill2750]

The Underground Man sounds like a NEET

[@cowboyschad5x778]

A neat NEET

[@emmanuelalozie5812]

Please do a complete video on ‘What is to be Done’! 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿

[@rezafarhad9915]

Thank you Dostoyevsky books has opened up my eyes into hidden world of human and of course myself

[@ytpah9823]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:09 🤒 *The narrator expresses his feelings of being sick and angry, and his distrust in understanding or treating his illness.* 00:47 🚂 *A personal anecdote about a stressful experience at a London railway station, reflecting on human indifference.* 01:12 📘 *Introduction to Dostoevsky’s "Notes from Underground" and its context in his life and other works.* 02:04 📚 *Explanation of the novel as a response to other Russian literature and its themes of nihilism and materialism.* 03:26 🤔 *Discussion of materialism in Russian literature and its influence on Marxism and Lenin.* 04:18 🇷🇺 *Exploration of how fiction and real-life events intertwine in Russian history, particularly with the Bolsheviks.* 05:17 ⌛ *Reflection on Dostoevsky’s age when writing the novel and its relation to midlife crises.* 06:13 📖 *Summary of the novel’s structure, focusing on the narrator's personal stories and philosophical ideas.* 07:12 💔 *Details of the Underground Man’s interactions and experiences, highlighting themes of humiliation and self-reflection.* 08:10 😢 *Insights into the Underground Man’s psyche, emphasizing his self-destructive and resentful nature.* 09:06 🚪 *The protagonist’s withdrawal from society as a metaphor for introspection and isolation.* 10:03 🐁 *Exploration of the Underground Man's feelings of insignificance and inferiority complex.* 12:24 🧠 *Analysis of the protagonist's heightened self-awareness and its impact on his actions and thoughts.* 14:41 🤕 *Discussion on the problematic nature of too much consciousness and its psychological impact.* 16:06 🌪️ *Contrast between spontaneous and thoughtful actions, and their respective consequences.* 18:04 🖤 *The notion that humans inherently seek and find pleasure in their own suffering.* 19:57 😵 *Reflection on human irrationality and its impact on decision-making.* 21:54 🧐 *The idea that intelligence does not necessarily correlate with moral goodness.* 23:44 ✍️ *The Underground Man’s use of storytelling and comedy as a form of self-expression and reflection.* 25:53 🌏 *The universal theme of loneliness and the human quest for meaning and purpose.* Made with HARPA AI

[@blakejames9952]

Thank you for such a good channel. You really make these characters come to life and relatable.

[@Fiction_Beast]

You’re welcome.

[@liltick102]

My autobiography written before my birth. I mean it, most relatable novel ever written to me.

[@LunaVintner]

this channel is getting better everyday

[@Fiction_Beast]

You think so? Thank you so much.

[@robwashers]

Thankyou for your hard work, all I can do is like and follow. I hope Mikhail would get a kick out of my impotence

[@goodyyy6171]

Спасибо за видео! Я удивлен проделанной тобой работой.

[@brokenrecord3523]

It's hard being better than everyone else. If you like Dostoevsky, read some Thoreau.

[@JayTX.]

I'd say if you relate to the underground man read Fernando Pessoa book of disquiet

[@kevinmccabe33]

Section 2 I’m a thinking man hits a little too close to home. 😳😬 Time for a re-read of this one

[@randycushman1669]

Just wanted to point out, what a beautiful painting at 7:01. Gorgeous lighting and beautifully rendered. Does anyone know the title of this painting?

[@-Llama_95]

Narkiz Bunin-Officer with a dog.

[@randycushman1669]

@@-Llama_95 thanks!

[@mohdzeeshan816]

Awesome story telling, keep it up!

[@Fiction_Beast]

Thank you!

[@Sarikagupta-f5d]

As always....great !💜💜

[@mortalmedicine]

Thanks man, a fun video! Can you outline your work process for making videos? And what makes you decide in certain topics?

[@Fiction_Beast]

Thanks for the idea! I might make a video explaining my process.

[@juiceknot]

Thank you

[@soul17169]

This is probably combined the most quirky, deep, and funny little book I've ever read. Just let it flow over you. I would say the man claims such a high level of disassociation or consciousness; being identity that he is in a way outside himself anyway hence no real action, and he is kind of able to tell us how his..little life and everything comes together so to speak. It is considered the first existential novel !

[@adnanalamoudi]

But emotions aren’t stupid or irrational. They’re usually embedded in deeper layers of unexplained logic that awaits to be elaborated.😊

[@Fiction_Beast]

perhaps non-rational is a better term becuause irrational has negative connotation.

[@kiyankurji67]

15:10- Thus conscience does make cowards of us all. Hamlet

[@nigelbryant7980]

There are many other great fiction writers out there. But Dostoevsky has nearly ruined other literature for me. The Master and Margarita though has come very close. Be curious for your thoughts on Bulgakov’s absolute masterpiece. Perhaps it’s a novel that can not even be talked about.

[@Fiction_Beast]

That’s a great suggestion. I picked it for my top ten Russia novels.

[@toddjacksonpoetry]

Excellent discussion. I disagree about his being honest. He is NOT a mouse, pathetic, a loser. That's a mistaken estimate of what one is, nihilism AS romanticism. It scratches itches, makes us feel good to cling to the gutter; "Look at me, I'm keepin' it real."

[@samikshakumari9783]

The saddest part .....when the video ends...btw it was beautiful explanation ❤

[@Fiction_Beast]

Thank you so much 😀

[@QuartuvLarry]

OH MY GOD! HE’S WRITING TO ME! TO ME!

[@RokasJovaisa]

Great timing, just finished reading this.

[@Fiction_Beast]

What did you think about it?

[@RokasJovaisa]

@@Fiction_Beast I liked it. It was my second Dostoevsky novel I’ve read, first one being The Idiot. Both were great and I’m looking forward to reading Brothers Karamazov next (I have to keep skipping parts where you mention it in your videos not to spoil it for myself :) ). Thank you for these literature videos!

[@sunritpal9596]

Your videos are great 👍

[@Fiction_Beast]

Cheers!

[@GBurhan]

This day I decided to visit Petersburg

[@NJP9036]

Point of fact, the Bolsheviks did not overthrow the Czar. They waited for the collapse of the Duma and Kerensky. Good video. Thank you.

[@waedjradi]

wow the last few lines of the video

[@jp-st8vn]

I read the p & v edition. But as a non English speaker i didn't get it. It was too hard. I struggled a lot then. Garnet's probably good but i think would be old style for me. Can anyone suggest me an easier translation?

[@robertjarman4261]

This is the perfect summary of all philosophy: I'm pink therefore I'm spam.

[@evanbarker6168]

Hey man, just wanted to say you’ve been posting some amazing content recently and I really do hope you keep producing more… I am kinda curious about you as a content creator though, are you a Phil student at uni? Whereabouts do you make vids? Etc.

[@evanbarker6168]

You do sound Spanish haha so I would guess Spain or somewhere in South America

[@Fiction_Beast]

I’m trying to be a novelists so making videos is an enjoyable distraction from the actual task of writing a novel. I’m no student and I have never studied literature at university. I guess my take on literature is a bit raw and half cooked.

[@evanbarker6168]

@@Fiction_Beast Ohhh ok gotcha. I was gonna say you sound like a grad student just by how much in depth you go in your videos and how well you describe the concepts.

[@Trifixion22]

Which translation do you recommend?

[@Rustsamurai1]

Reading the novel presently.

[@stimpyfeelinit]

nice vid

[@dunsbroccoli2588]

"He'd become a successful author." *shows a 7th century painting of an Indian guy making macaroni

[@stepan9569]

Cлушать русскую речь с английском акцентом всегда доставляет удовольствие)

[@AlexandraNevermind]

Is it better to act without thinking, or think without acting?

[@Fiction_Beast]

Watch my video on Don Quixote vs Hamlet

[@DragonTamerCos]

This video is old, ik. And you don't read comments probably, but, "What Is To Be Done" isn't a "Russian Version of the communist manifesto". I'm pretty sure Lenin worked on translations of Marx, but this was Lenin's own ideas.

[@monique6451]

Astrologers note: At 42 we experience the Uranus opposition in our natal chart, hence the “mid-life” crisis.

[@tylerthegrimm]

It feels nice underground. If i could live underground, i would. I like basements, too.

[@Husayn-ux7jx]

“The more intelligent you are, the less altruistic you become" 🤝

[@db8799]

why are the captions so big?

[@Fiction_Beast]

Just the Russian part at the beginning?

[@muhammadimrankhan3294]

Love from Pakistani ❤❤❤

[@whatsgoingon71]

8:35 this perfektly describes "русский мир"

[@sleeba1]

Very absorbing

[@shahanology21]

Good Work as always by you. I request you to Please Compare John Keats and S.T Coleridge. Thanks

[@Fiction_Beast]

I'm more of a prose reader, but a good suggestion.

[@Ali-lm7uw]

​@@Fiction_Beastyou are missing out then. You should read Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

[@Jokervision744]

I don't see much reason to argue with his points. If I did it would just push me out of this "another brick in the wall" way of life. Well... I'm trying but I don't know, if I'm offered the right tools to even do that.

[@gulc]

Thank you! This is definitely something i want to read now.

[@jaimedeleon1194]

I could have read this in high school or earlier and tragically changed my whole vector. Oh well

[@god9687]

On a certain level, we have a drug store in our Dostojevskij, the neurochemicals that show up in flow: so dopamine, norepinephrine, anandamide, endorphins, and serotonin. If you were to try to cocktail the street drug version of that, right, you're trying to blend like heroin and speed and coke and acid and weed- and point is, you can't do it. It turns out Dostojevskij can cocktail all of 'em at once, which is why people will prefer flow to almost any experience on Earth. It's our favorite experience. It's the most addictive experience on Earth. Why? 'Cause it cocktails five or six of the largest pleasure drugs that Dostojevskij can produce. We're all capable of so much more than we know. That is a commonality across the board. And one of the big reasons is we're all hardwired for flow, and flow is a massive amplification of what's possible for ourselves.

[@porkyswelding]

i see faces in the ocean around 21:30

[@Urg4nm0m]

It was not Men that he was warning about

[@SymbolsPatternsGnosis]

Father Sand Sons - Wii are forever

[@natalya9821]

Hello from Moscow. Where were you born? Your Russian is good. Thanks.

[@alexobed4252]

bravo!!!!

[@kalashnikov2471]

It's like Dostoevsky is describing himself through this book and no one is underground man but he himself

[@ShivanBhararia]

On intelligentsia and inaction: 14:11

[@nadaroshan4022]

coline Wilson discussed it in his outsider

[@Fiction_Beast]

I will chek him out

[@daboekroontjas1483]

I want to learn Russian so bad.. It's like a meth addiction.

[@thekidblack111]

Do it, what’s stopping you

[@kaj7135]

Play STALKER.

[@awaalim-allooora]

عمل جيد، ورواية عظيمة

[@Fiction_Beast]

I wish I could understand.

[@SkepticNovelist]

“Good work, and great novel” In Arabic.

[@felipefigueira79]

Brilliant

[@Minastir1]

as a great philosopher once said: "don't kill the part of you that is cringe, kill the part that cringes"

[@vodkacannon]

Cringe prevents us from saying things that are interesting.

[@allen4758]

The older i get , the more disappointed in society i become

[@addictionfree-n8w]

That's some heavy shit

[@Caraunus]

And how do you stop being like that man ?

[@maxim.j22]

Мне больше нравится начало в оригинале. Местоимение "Я" в разных частях предложения создает ритм. Хотя я могу не "ловить ритм" английского перевода ибо плохо знаю английский

[@ozymandiasultor9480]

In my language, we write Я as Ја. And I agree, in Russian, it has a specific rhythm that is untranslatable in English.

[@mjolninja9358]

でしょう？

[@dinka-li]

Да! Местоимение "Я" в разных частях предложения и его отсутствие тоже. Всегда в этом плане немного сожалею о том, что я не являюсь носителем сразу языков 5 и не могу читать книги английских, японских, французских, немецких авторов в оригинале 😅

[@maxim.j22]

@@ozymandiasultor9480 you are Slovenian? Serbian?

[@maxim.j22]

@@dinka-li я знаю неплохо французский и начал изучать английский, это не так и сложно, просто нужно много смотреть Ютуб