Summary:     

 A paper that focuses on the relationships between the “fourfold” present in Heideggeran thought and the characters in Dostoevsky. I will also focus on the different ecopoetic elements that are intrinsic to the fourfold and present themselves in Zosima and other characters. For example, when Zosima has his epiphany before his duel, overlay landscape, otherworldly virtue, and relational identity can all be tied in repeatedly to the scene. I also plan on relating Alyosha’s dialogue to himself at Zosima’s funeral, when he is disappointed at the stinking coffin, which would be the “abyss” but turns it into a moment of personal transformation. The final close reading will be of the inquisitor’s speech to Christ, and how it addresses ideas about personal autonomy as it relates to Doestoevsky’s thoughts about modernization. All three of these scenes depict moments that not only relate to the elements of ecopoetics we have discussed, but also contain at least some of the elements of the “fourfold” which can be used as an extensive resource. 

First Paragraph:      

Zosima awoke on the day of his duel to a feeling of overwhelming guilt. Soon, however, that guilt gave way to a piercing light, and all around him, the birds, the trees, and even the sun seemed to rejoice. Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov emphasizes an intensely individualistic view of spirituality and personal transformation, which therefore relates to the writings of Alexander Dugin, who in his works contemplates the lonely “darkness” that accompanies spiritual enlightenment. Characters in The Brothers Karamazov, most notably Zosima but occurring again with others, reach moments of enlightenment and grace when they are at the same time met with a personal darkness. Alexander Dugin, writing in The Philosophy of Another Beginning, recalls the idea of the “Fourfold”, a group of relationships constituted by the earth, sky, divinity and men, which shows itself to men when they enter the “Abyss”, a sort of spiritual loneliness or turmoil. The transformation that Zosima undergoes and that Dugin describes is an important reminder that times of personal loneliness or self-loathing can instead act as a catalyst for personal transformation.

Close reading chapters:

Book 6: Chapter 2

Book 11: Chapter 4

Book 5: Chapter 5

Mitchell, Andrew J. The Fourfold: Reading the Late Heidegger. Northwestern University Press, 2015. 

Frank, Joseph, and Mary Petrusewicz. Dostoevsky: A Writer in His Time. Princeton Univ. Press, 2010.