Brothers Karamazov: Manicheanism, Christian Existentialism and other Paradoxes I Prof. Thomas Pfau
Prof. Thomas Pfau offers an in-depth theological and philosophical analysis of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, focusing on Ivan and Alyosha’s contrasting worldviews, the “Rebellion” and “Grand Inquisitor” chapters, and the novel’s profound exp...
August 12, 2025
55 min
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August 12, 2025
Brothers Karamazov: Manicheanism, Christian Existentialism and other Paradoxes I Prof. Thomas Pfau
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55:34This episodeBrothers Karamazov: Manicheanism, Christian Existentialism and other Paradoxes I Prof. Thomas Pfau
Summary
<p>Prof. Thomas Pfau offers an in-depth theological and philosophical analysis of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, focusing on Ivan and Alyosha’s contrasting worldviews, the “Rebellion” and “Grand Inquisitor” chapters, and the novel’s profound exploration of freedom, suffering, and divine love.</p><p><br /></p><p>This lecture was given on January 31st, 2025, at University of Texas at Austin.</p><p><br /></p><p>For more information on upcoming events, visit us at <a href="https://dashboard.cohostpodcasting.com/shows/fedb9eb7-b992-446b-be01-01cd62afd823/episodes/thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events" target="_blank">thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>About the Speaker:</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Thomas Pfau (PhD 1989, SUNY Buffalo) is the Alice Mary Baldwin Professor of English, with a secondary appointment in the Divinity School at Duke University. He has published some fifty essays on literary, philosophical, and theological subjects ranging from the 18th through the early 20th century. In addition to two translations, of Hölderlin and Schelling (SUNY Press, 1987 and 1994), he has also edited seven essay collections and special journal issues and is the author of four monographs: </span><em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Wordsworth’s Profession</em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> (Stanford UP 1997), </span><em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Romantic Moods: Paranoia, Trauma, Melancholy</em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, 1790-1840 (Johns Hopkins UP 2005), </span><em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Minding the Modern: Intellectual Traditions, Human Agency, and Responsible Knowledge</em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> (Notre Dame UP, 2013), and </span><em style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Incomprehensible Certainty: Metaphysics and Hermeneutics of the Image </em><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">(Notre Dame UP, 2022). He in the early stages of a new book project focused on the relationship between poetry and theology from 1800 to the present.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>Keywords: <em>The Brothers Karamazov</em>, Freedom, Gnosticism, Grand Inquisitor, Human Suffering, Ivan Karamazov, Nihilism, Original Sin, Rebellion, Rowan Williams</p>