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Deep Analysis of Crime and Punishment: The Trolley Problem (Pt. I Ch. II-III) (Patreon)

Published:
2021-04-06 19:03:49
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

One of the most interesting questions raised by Dostoyevsky in Crime and Punishment is an ethical dilemma that’s come to be known as the “trolley problem”.

There is a runaway trolley hurtling down a railway track. There are five people tied to the track, and the trolley is heading for them. You are standing next to a lever. If you pull the lever, the trolley will switch to a second set of tracks. But this track has one person tied to it. Do you:

1. Do nothing, letting the trolley kill the five people

2. Pull the lever, diverting the trolley to kill the one person.

What is the right thing to do?

Here are timestamps for this video, with some boldened topic areas you might wish to jump to if you’re lacking time:

  • 0:00 boundless loathing
  • 1:00 guilt preceding crime
  • 1:20 that which is hidden will be made manifest
  • 2:30 one needs crime to have salvation
  • 3:40 tavern and Haymarket as immoral centre of C&P
  • 4:00 negative existentialists (Camus, Sartre) vs positive (Maslow, Frankl)
  • 5:30 how Dostoyevsky creates suspense
  • 5:40 sequential vs synchronous time (culture differences)
  • 9:00 a blasphemous thought experiment
  • 11:00 social physics and statistical predictors of criminality
  • 13:00 “doing time” and being beyond saving
  • 14:20 the penal system - revenge vs rehabilitation
  • 15:30 the trolley/train-track problem
  • 22:00 Christ before Pilate, and ascending Golgotha
  • 24:17 ‘In the Beginning was the Word’
  • 25:00 the theory of linguistic relativity (language influences thought)
  • 27:00 kissing and washing feet
  • 27:30 sacrifice, salvation, and prostituting oneself
  • 28:20 Psalm 68: “as wax melteth before the fire”
  • 30:16 Jesus and Mary Magdalene (“to whom little is forgiven…”)
  • 34:30 reading Crime and Punishment in light of Anna Karenina

Let me know your thoughts on any of the issues we touched upon, or anything in the first few chapters that has struck you.

1) How would you resolve the trolley issue? Why? What if we take it to its logical extremes?

2) “That which is hidden will be made manifest”, says Marmeladov, alluding to New Testament wisdom. Do you agree? Do we ever get away with anything?

3) How do you feel about social physics and statistical predictors of criminality?

Happy reading!

Files

Previews only

Deep Analysis of Crime and Punishment: The Trolley Problem (Pt. I Ch. II-III)

0:00 boundless loathing 1:00 guilt preceding crime 1:20 that which is hidden will be made manifest 2:30 one needs crime to have salvation 3:40 tavern and Haymarket as immoral centre of C&P 4:00 negative existentialists (Camus, Sartre) vs positive (Maslow, Frankl) 5:30 how Dostoyevsky creates suspense 5:40 sequential vs synchronous time (culture differences) 9:00 a blasphemous thought experiment 11:00 social physics and statistical predictors of criminality 13:00 “doing time” and being beyond saving 14:20 the penal system - revenge vs rehabilitation 15:30 the trolley/train-track problem 22:00 Christ before Pilate, and ascending Golgotha 24:17 ‘In the Beginning was the Word’ 25:00 the theory of linguistic relativity (language influences thought) 27:00 kissing and washing feet 27:30 sacrifice, salvation, and prostituting oneself 28:20 Psalm 68: “as wax melteth before the fire” 30:16 Jesus and Mary Magdalene (“to whom little is forgiven…”) 34:30 reading Crime and Punishment in light of Anna Karenina

Comments

Daniel green

Thought I’d continue to post my thoughts. I journal about each chapter on my phone in my notes so I’m literally just copying and pasting them hence the poor grammar and spelling sometimes. Chapter 2 - interesting descriptions of the characters are very prevalent in this chapter. They help to give an early, an potentially unjust, judgement. For example, Katerina Ivanovna, who seems similar to Raskolnikov, as a wasted beauty. Someone who was good looking but now lives in such poverty that they are a disgust, but you can still see the attractiveness hidden if you search for it. It seems like marmeladov drinks and ruins his own life because he is in search of pity. He throws his job away, steals his family’s only money and wastes it on alcohol hiding from his family. He does this then to be punished by His wife to balance out his crime, the first example of this. He talks about when his day of judgement comes god shall let his family, who have been too good to him into heaven because of him. And eventually god will see how much sorrow he feels for himself that he is not worthy of god, because he has this understanding of god, god will let drunkards and swines like him into his house for they understand and will worship at his feet forever for his gratitude. A very heavy and shocking picture of pure destitution is shown by Marmeladov when talking about him and his wife. Showing how far his wife had dropped, who came from a good family, to search for help in him. Crying and weeping as she had to marry him due to her pride. Then talks about them having to put his daughter through prostitution for money for the family as they had absolutely none. Talks how there is no money to be made from honest work for an unskilled young woman. Very long Dostoyevskyesque monologue from Marmeladov. It is filled with ‘hm’s and pauses and unfinished sentences. The character is drunk and on a ramble and you get a very good pacing and expression of how he is speaking. He also asks many rhetorical questions in an attempt to show the depths of these issues to Raskolinkov. Marmeladov takes almost pride in his despicable life and how he threw away his great job after one month. He wants everyone in the tavern to know it. And that he begged off his daughter for the last of her money too, just to drink it away. He cannot hide it. He doesn’t care what others think, and if anything wants the pity. The pity of being despised so much that you have to pity at a point. He wants to be punished badly for his actions that after you must pity him. Also he knows, ‘whatever is hidden will become manifest’ so as a religious man he has nothing to hide. He makes many religious references which I really like and add a lot to the stories once you find out about the psalms or texts. There is a very powerful bit of speech by M just before he goes into the house of his family. He talks about how he is not afraid of the beatings she will give him, he is more afraid that she won’t beat him, he needs it. He is afraid of her eyes, of how I’ll she is and of how desperate his children are. He is in complete despair of it all. After watching the commotion of M returning to his wife, and leaving having donated some money of his, which he can barely afford to do, Raskolnikov almost seems to find the humour in it, in how shockingly desperate that family are. He sees that there are people below even him still. Chapter 3 - we get a description of Raskolnikov’s room which seems to be horrible and falling apart and almost unsuitable to live in. It seems to represent his mental and physical state quite well. After a rude encounter with the maid in the appartment he reads the letter his mother has sent to him. She details the life of her and Raskolnikov’s sister Dunya. It is quite long and not the most interesting part to read. Then she writes about Dunya’s new spouse, a man called Pyotor Petrovich. Originally it seems like the mother is very happy with him, and expresses it as great news that she has found him. But there are many hints here and there that he is not as great as she is letting on. There are a lot of flaws which are waved off that could be almost foreshadowing future issues. It seems that the joy of Dunya finding him is more as a contrast to the abhorrent situation they were just in before. Raskolnikov seems to be deeply loved by both his sister and mother who put all their love and hope into, which seems surprising to me from the little we know about Raskolnikov so far. After finishing the letter, we learn Raskolnikov was crying during most of it, again showing a side unseen so far, but then the vicious thoughts return to him, although seemingly all the more pleasing now. I am not too sure why though but we get a horrible sense of what is to come. Definitely preferred the first two chapters but I’m assuming chapter 3 had more background story it had to get out, I just found it less interesting and thought the mother was a less interesting narrator.

Anonymous

Hey Ben - quick question here. Do you advise book club members to watch the corresponding videos before or after reading. For example, in this case, do you advise watching before I read ch. II-III or just after? Thanks!