La saggezza degli inquisitori: considerazioni su nichilismo e polifonia tra Dostoevskij e Bachtin

Abstract

The essay analyzes a few key moments in Dostoevsky’s work, drawing primarily on Bachtin’s interpretation. It discusses the nihilistic perspective of Dostoevsky’s novels through the conceptual filter of polyphony, or the multiplication of the characters’ autonomous voices. This polyphony raises epistemological, moral, and political problems, since, for Dostoevsky, it is impossible to identify criteria for justifying one truth over another. The essay discusses these philosophical aspects considering their possible political consequences. The focus is placed above all on the relationship between freedom and happiness as it emerges from the legend of the Grand Inquisitor, narrated by Ivan in The Brothers Karamazov.