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Sigmund Freud called The Brothers Karamazov “the best novel ever written,” and for over a century this novel is widely read and hotly debated. Albert Camus considered the chapter on “The Grand Inquisitor” to be the most radical criticism of the Western culture, including its religious tradition. Dostoevsky’s goal, however, was not negative but positive. He wanted to refute this heresy and establish a positive outlook, which would reaffirm our spiritual and religious tradition and deepen our appreciation for art and human creativity. The goal of the conference is critically to reconsider Dostoevsky’s reply to “The Grand Inquisitor,” i.e., Dostoevsky’s affirmation of human life, creativity, and spirituality.

The conference will be multidisciplinary – besides the world-renown Dostoevsky scholars, it will bring together philosophers, artists, and religious scholars.

The list of the invited and confirmed speakers:

Ruben Apressyan, Moscow
Jacques Catteau, Paris
Caryl Emerson, Princeton
Joseph Frank, Stanford
Sergey Sergyevich Horujy, Moscow
Robert L. Jackson, Yale
Deborah A. Martinsen, Columbia
Robin Feuer Miller, Brandeis

The Chair of the Organizing Committee:

Prof. Predrag Cicovacki
Department of Philosophy
College of the Holy Cross
Worcester, MA 01610, USA
pcicovac@holycross.edu