Chapter 7 Strangers in the Philosophical Night: Camus and Dostoevsky

In: Brill's Companion to Camus
Author:
Thomas Epstein
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Thomas Epstein’s chapter looks to rectify the ways that in many respects both Camus and Dostoevsky are not taken seriously as philosophers, since they were novelists. It contends that “Camus’s attitude to Dostoevksy and his characters acts as a barometer of Camus’s evolving relations to his own categories of the absurd, revolt, and love.” Beginning with a synopsis of Russian philosophy, most often seen as grounded in religion, Epstein lays the foundation for what he sees as “the broad crossroads linking Dostoevsky, Camus, and Nietzsche”. Rather than focusing on the often-anthologized novella, Notes from the Underground, Epstein chooses to focus on Dostoevsky’s quasi-autobiographical The Idiot and its connection to Camus’s ouevre. Following a systematic outline of Dostoevsky’s novel, and reading The Idiot through the lens of L’Homme révolté and La Peste, Epstein points to parallels to two themes: ethics and rebellion.

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