Curated set · answers marked
Which author penned Notes from Underground in 1864?
ALeo Tolstoy
BIvan Turgenev
CFyodor Dostoevsky✓
DNikolai Gogol
Which of the following best captures the Underground Man's main argument against the "rational egoism" put forth by thinkers like Nikolai Chernyshevsky?
AHuman beings are inherently rational and will always make choices that benefit society when given the opportunity.
BPeople are primarily motivated by self-interest, which makes a utopian society based on reason both attainable and desirable.
CHuman beings will intentionally act against their own rational self-interest just to assert their free will and individuality, rendering any perfectly rational utopia unattainable.✓
DThe Underground Man agrees with rational egoism but argues that it can only be realized through suffering and self-denial.
Rationale
The Underground Man contends that humans value their freedom and unpredictability above all — even more than their own welfare. He believes that individuals will act against logical systems and behave irrationally just to demonstrate that they are not mere "piano keys" or parts of a deterministic machine, which directly challenges the rationalist-utopian ideology that Dostoevsky critiques.
Who is the author of Notes from Underground (1864)?
ALeo Tolstoy
BIvan Turgenev
CFyodor Dostoevsky✓
DNikolai Gogol