Why Read Dostoevsky? (Freedom from Psychic Serfdom, Ep.1)

"Revolution in the souls, not in the streets." Today we explore why you should read Dostoevsky. Elliot alludes to his experience with materialism, faith, and encountering the "good medicine" of Dostoevsky's philosophy.
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If you're looking for reasons why you need to read Dostoevsky, this video serves as a good introduction. I hope it inspires you to pick up a novel like Crime & Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, or any of the Russian author's other incredible works.

*Unlike the majority of my videos, this video does not feature original music

In his free time, my guest Elliott like to write and recite poetry. Here's a link to his channel:

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Thanks for taking the time to read this. I appreciate you being a part of this channel and its community. See you for the next episode,

-Evan

CREDITS:
-This video was made possible by the generous patrons anonymous and veritanuda 🦢💪⚔️

[RewiretheWest]

The first of many videos! So many good takeaways in this one. Two of my favorite are:

1) "A good philosophy should do for our minds and our souls what medicine does for our bodies."

2) "A life devoid of meaning is a life devoid of direction."


What's one of your main takeaways from this video? Comment to let us know!

A link to Elliot's poetry channel can be found in the video description. See you next Saturday for Episode 2 of Freedom from Psychic Serfdom!

-Evan

[dhirenvasava]

Algorithm started working and i am here because of it. And this is really good.

[Effiedreamsagn]

Your work with Rewire the West is not only good and interesting, but it's also so authentic. You can tell just by watching the first episode that this new series is driven by the sincere intention of helping others take care of their soul. Mine rejoiced while watching it! Thank you very much guys! 😊

[vonrichthofen]

True and meaningful discourse like this is what society is desperately in need of.

[veritanuda]

A great start. It is good to dive into what makes Dostoevsky as poignant a writer as Shakespere or Voltaire. It is true we do not work as an island but we are bridges to each other and it is only by recognising that together we can improve ourselves when facing challenges and hardships by caring with hope and empathy.

Thanks for doing this.

[Misplacedintime]

I have not read Dostoevsky since high school. The coordinated suppression of the classics had begun, even in my Midwest university in the early 1970s. So, we were on our own if we wanted to go beyond the cultural perversion of the time.

[Watchyourselvez]

Where the hell can I meet people like you

[oodlesofnoodles]

Right at the end: "a change in the attitude of the educated classes".
I find this is most profound when considering some of the major events of the last few years. Of course, not all change is good change, as GS Viereck points out, even the most highly educated people can become puppets of political agendas (usually then becoming propagandists themselves).

Just as with Dante, I see also in Dostoevsky several similarities with ancient Stoicism. I shall endeavour to add his works to my bookshelf in the near future.