“Man, whoever he might be, has always and everywhere liked to act as he wants, and not at all as reason and profit dictate; and one can want even against one’s own profit, and one sometimes even positively must (this is my idea now). One’s own free and voluntary wanting, one’s own caprice, however wild, one’s own fancy, though chafed sometimes to the point of madness– all this is that same most profitable profit, the omitted one, which does not fit into any classification, and because of which all systems and theories are constantly blown to the devil” (Notes from Underground, p. 25).
After reading the first selection from the novel (pp. 1-41):
What is the Underground Man’s theory of desire? According to him, why would someone want to act against apparent reason and profit? How do you think Marx would interpret or explain Underground Man’s reasoning on this point?
—
Respond to these questions in a single, formatted paragraph (~250-300 words not counting quotations). Please use at least two direct quotations, one from each text, to support your answer.
(~250-300 words not counting quotations).
USE THE BOOKS
Karl Marx, Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 (Dover) ISBN: 9780486455617
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Underground (Vintage) ISBN: 9780679734529
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|