BOOK CLUB: Philosophy, Spirituality & Psychology
Details
Hi all,
We have chosen to read "Notes From the Underground" by Fyodor Dostoevsky. We will read until page 72 (which is Part 2, Chapter 4) before our next MeetUp.
"Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground is the bitter, brilliant monologue of a nameless retired civil servant who has spent forty years stewing in a St. Petersburg basement, sharpening his contempt for himself, his neighbors, and the entire Enlightenment project. Published in 1864, it's widely regarded as the first existentialist novel — the seedbed from which Nietzsche, Sartre, and Camus all eventually grew.
The Underground Man's central provocation: that human beings would rather act against their own interests than be reduced to predictable cogs in a rational utopia. Offered a world where 2+2=4 and everyone is reasonably happy, he insists on the freedom to declare 2+2=5, even if it costs him everything. Spite, he argues, may be the last proof that we are not piano keys.
It's short, savage, often uncomfortably funny, and it punctures the smug rationalism of its era with arguments that still draw blood. If your group has been working through Sartre and Camus, this is the book they were quietly reading first."
As usual feel free to contact me if you require a copy.
Hope to see you all there!
Matthew Woolsey
(360) 201-3572