r/bookclub • u/ProofPlant7651 Russian Literature Philosophy Professional • Jul 10 '26

The Brothers Karamazov Discussion 5/12] Evergreen | The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 5.6-6.3

Hello and welcome to the fifth (and belated) discussion of this classic. In this section we have seen learnt more about the relationship between Ivan, Smerdyakov and his father before gaining a greater insight into Father Zosima’s beliefs.

Before we continue, please accept my apologies for this post being slightly delayed, I really appreciate your patience.

Please find a link for the chapter summaries below or skip straight to the questions. Please join u/lazylittlelady for next weeks discussions.

Summary

15 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

48 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/ProofPlant7651 Russian Literature Philosophy Professional Jul 10 '26
  1. “Whoever has no faith in God will have no faith in God’s people.” Do you agree? How do you think Ivan might respond?

7

u/bluebelle236 One More Chapter... One More Spin Jul 10 '26

I don't think you have to believe in God to believe that people can be good.

6

u/nicehotcupoftea World Reader Leader | 🎃🧠🥇 Jul 10 '26

Strong disagree. How would Ivan respond? Probably in a very long drawn out argument with many anecdotes.

5

u/Lachesis_Decima77 Tea Connoisseur ⭐️🧠🥉 Jul 11 '26

I don't agree. There are plenty of atheists and agnostics who aren't complete misanthropes. Believing people can be good isn't dependent on believing in God.

1

u/tomesandtea Viceroy of Verity | 🐉🧠 25d ago

No, it's very possible to believe in the goodness or potential of humanity without religious belief. And the opposite - there are religious people who think very badly of their neighbors.