Katharsis in the Brothers Karamazov, Special Guest: Mihail Neamțu

”In the light of his own traumatic experience in Siberia, Fyodor Dostoevsky was obsessed with the notion of guilt, justice, and redemption. The last great piece of literature the Russian writer ever produced deals with the famous trial of Dimitry Karamazov: a rebellious son, falsely accused of murder by a corrupt judiciary system. Why is human error so pervasive? Why there can be no room for any mathematical demonstration proving someone’s guilt? Why is it that rhetoric always interferes with our moral reasoning? Why does the community’s need for a scapegoat lead to the destruction of an innocent victim?” (Mihai Neamțu)