I mentioned previously that two different people have been called 'the father of existentialism.' One of them is Soren Kierkegaard, and he's probably the one I would give the credit to. But old Soren will take longer to discuss, so I want to say something about Dostoevsky first.
Fyodor Dostoevsky was the son of a Russian military officer. In young adulthood he ran with the young liberals in Europe that would end up changing the world. His ideas were not that much different from those that led to Marxism, etc. But somewhere along the way he became serious about his Christian faith. If I remember right it was about the same time he was in prison. He spent time in prison both for his associations with one of the underground, liberal, political groups, but also ended up in debtors' prison (he had a gambling problem). I don't want to say too much about his faith because I don't want to misrepresent it, but he was a Christian, and very much Russian Orthodox.
Much of his writing is specifically aimed at those young liberal intellectuals that he hung around with for a while. In The Brothers Karamozov he addresses the issues of what life is like without God. (Please forgive that very brief summary.) In Crime and Punishment he ridicules the liberal intellectuals quite severely, and I think successfully. In that book Raskolnikov, the main character, is a young intellectual who brutally murdered an old woman who owned a pawn shop because he needed her money. It was the working out of his own philosophy. There was no god, and no right or wrong, so why not kill a worthless, crotchety, old woman. But it didn't work out so well for Raskolnikov. He thought he had beaten the system, but the real significance of what he did was constantly invading into reality, and it drove him mad.
I think the reason some people consider Dostoevsky the 'father of existentialism' was because he dealt with some issues of interest to those who would later be called existentialists. He was one of the first novelists/thinkers to address the issues. He did deal with the point of view of individuals, and he certainly dealt with the alienation of individuals from society, which is a big existential topic. But I find it hard to call him an existentialist, or even the father of existentialism, because his conclusions are so different from existentialism. As can be seen with Rakolnikov, he couldn't really determine his own essence. Reality was always crashing in on him and spoiling his illusion.
Another way he may seem a little existential can be seen in The Brothers Karamozov. Without getting into too much detail, that is where the famous line is, "If there is no God, all things are permissible." Dostoevsky's conclusion is that of course there is a God, because all things are not permissible. But in typical Orthodox fashion, he seems to leave the issue as a mystery. Yes, it is mysterious that there is a God and yet he allows innocent people to suffer intensely sometimes. But yet I know there is a God. It is just an existential 'leap of faith' to accept God. (That's not Dostoevsky's phrase, but an existentialist could say it fits here).
Personally, I think that is the wrong way to take Dostoevsky. To him it isn't a 'leap of faith'. I think he did the logic. "I know that all things are not permissible. So there must be a God. If I torture or murder someone, that is very wrong. Why God allows it is a mystery. But mystery is ok."
That is actually one thing I like about the Eastern Orthodox churches. They can accept mystery. Yes, at times they take it a little far. But part of the problem with the western Protestant churches is the division that results over trying to 'pin down' theological issues that are really beyond our grasp. I happen to believe that exploring all those theological mysteries can be very profitable. But you have to humble about it.
So, that's what I have to say about Dostoevsky. Anyone else have anything to add?
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