2/24 Discussions

          I feel that we finally reached the real heart and meat of this book in today’s discussions, this whole idea that man is so intent on proving the fact that he is not simply a “piano key” as Dostoyevsky so commonly refers to. Here Dostoyevsky spells out the concept that if society were perfect, every action defined without a doubt in rationale, the normal man, the stupid man, would act irrationally, just to prove that he isn’t the result of some formula or some explanation or wall. Yet Dostoyevsky is calling out the extreme irony that is the fact that man still strives, headlong into the unknown, risking their lives at times, to try to find an explanation, to strive to attain this wall and guide for us to live. We strive to create what we are going to inevitably destroy. It is at this point that I begin to stop caring about philosophy, if y’all are so concerned about what is the grand purpose, then you are missing the point, or missing the forest through the trees. I have come to the conclusion that instead of questioning why, I just accept what is knowing that I will live a much easier life in being able to simply explain my actions, instead of ponder as to every reason behind everything. As Dostoyevsky said, a conscious man is a disabled man, and I prefer ability over consciousness.