Freedom in opposition to happiness: reflections of Ivan Karamazov on cruelty and suffering

Abstract

This paper addresses the issue of freedom and human suffering according to the parable of the character Ivan Karamazov, The Great Inquisitor, chapter of The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. For the Grand Inquisitor, freedom is a burden for men, who prefer to submit themselves to others in order to bear the burden and torments of being responsible for their free decisions, and to exchange it for guarantees and a promise of happiness. Christ, in turn, wants the freedom, love and faith of men based on their own free will. However, there is no true freedom without allowing the possibility of evil in opposition to good. Ivan Karamazov understands this freedom as an opportunity to
inflict suffering on men and refuses to accept suffering and sacrifice to understand the meaning of life as atonement for sins.