Dostoevsky & Sartre Choose and Essay

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Under Sartre's theory, freedom is other than what exists now; however, it must first be imagined, from nothingness, in order for it to then become possible, as an alternative for that which how exists, but which creates the human condition of being less than free.

Explain, now, with reference to the material outlined for 2 above, how the two authors' views differ with regard to the character of human freedom.

Dostoevsky's view of the character of human freedom represents a reaction against scientific or rational systems that would serve to restrict, constrain, or otherwise discourage an individual from thinking for himself or herself, that is, originally and imaginatively, without dogmas, assumptions, or preconceived notions cluttering the thought processes. In Dostoevsky's view, systematization and scientific rationality not only prevent but impinge upon true freedom, since these constrain the human spirit and the imagination. According to the article "Radical Freedom," what is being suggested by Dostoevsky's underground man is that to achieve actual freedom, one must challenge "natural laws, reason, and even enlightened self-interest" (p. 374, Lt) rather than passively accepting them, or being afraid to challenge them.

Sartre's view of human freedom, on the other hand, has to do with one's being able to imagine, from within the nothingness that exists vis-a-vis the present system or dogma that is not freedom, an alternative that would indeed represent freedom instead.

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While Dostoevsky's narrator focuses on the negating of present systems and rationality as freedom, or a means toward freedom, Sartre's focus is instead on imagining and then creating an alternative way of being that will represent true freedom. This is why, as Sartre suggests, when workers strike, or when soldiers fight in a revolution, they do so with a far greater sense of purpose when the alternative to the rules or system(s) presently in place, first, can be imagined, second, are desired by them, and third, appear to possess a true potential for being viably created and used in place of the system or set of rules that operates now. In essence, Dostoevsky's narrator speaks about what might be created, as an alternative to rational thought or scientific dogma, to yield true freedom. Sartre ponders what might be created, not so much in opposition against an existing way of being, but rather, from the nothingness that is now not freedom, but which could be built, from scratch, into freedom in the future......

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