Monday Post

Dostoyevsky point of view towards the human condition is interesting. Dostoyevsky claims that human beings are not only stupid but also naturally ungrateful. He explained this by saying that nature could provide a man with economic stability, food, drinks, and everything that he could possible need to maintain himself and still he continues to crave something more. This is similar to a phenomenon that I learned about in my phycology class last year. The relative deprivation principle explains what I believe Dostoyevsky was discussing. The relative deprivation principle is about being happy with what you have until you see something better. Dostoyevsky says asks the question: how can you be happy with a hen house when you’ve seen a mansion? Human being, according to Dostoyevsky, have a constant need to attain, and they are not so much satisfied with the ending result as they are with the processes of attaining. For example, the processes of building a house is more enjoyable then actually living in it, because once you finish you are already starting to look for the next best thing. This seems to be obvious but I’ve never really noticed it until reading Notes from the Underground.