Fyodor Dostoyevsky expressed a strange and surprising sentiment through one of the characters of The Brothers Karamazov. A dying young man named Markel declares: "Every one of us has sinned against all men, and I more than others.” He later says: “…every one of us is answerable for everyone else and for everything.” Markel’s absurd claims have engendered many reflections on the nature of suffering and what it means to be responsible for someone else’s suffering. The world has no shortage of pain and evil; what exactly is the relationship between suffering and responsibility? ...
Fyodor Dostoyevsky expressed a strange and surprising sentiment through one of the characters of The Brothers Karamazov. A dying young man named Marke...