The Karamazov Case

This is a new interpretation of Dostoevsky''s novel The Brothers Karamazov that scrutinizes it as a performative event (the "polyphony" of the novel) revealing its religious, philosophical, and social meanings through the interplay of mentalites or worldviews that constitute an aesthetic whole. This way of discerning the novel''s social vision of sobornost'' (a unity between harmony and freedom), its vision of hope, and its more subtle sacramental presuppositions, raises Tilley''s interpretation beyond the standard "theology and literature" treatments of the novel and interpretations that treat the novel as providing solutions to philosophical problems.Tilley develops Bakhtin''s thoughtful analysis of the polyphony of the novel using communication theory and readers/hearer response criticism, and by using Bakhtin''s operatic image of polyphony to show the error of taking "faith vs. reason", argues that at the end of the novel, the characters learned to carry on, in a quiet shared commitment to memory and hope.>

Préface
A new interpretation of Dostoevsky's masterpiece focusing on the relationship of the freedom of persons to and in their communities.

Auteur
Terrence W. Tilley is Professor Emeritus at Fordham University, USA, having been Department Chair for Theology. Prior to that, he was Professor and Department Chair of Religious Studies at University of Dayton, USA. He has also taught at Florida State University, USA.

He is the author or editor of 13 previous books including Religious Diversity and the American Experience (Continuum, 2007) and The Karamazov Case (T&T Clark, 2023).

Additionally, his book Inventing Catholic Tradition (2007) took First Place in Theology from the Catholic Press Association. He is a member of the Catholic Theological Society of America, the Society for Philosophy of Religion and the College Theology Society.

Texte du rabat

This is a new interpretation of Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov that scrutinizes it as a performative event (the "polyphony" of the novel) revealing its religious, philosophical, and social meanings through the interplay of mentalités or worldviews that constitute an aesthetic whole. This way of discerning the novel's social vision of sobornost' (a unity between harmony and freedom), its vision of hope, and its more subtle sacramental presuppositions, raises Tilley's interpretation beyond the standard "theology and literature" treatments of the novel and interpretations that treat the novel as providing solutions to philosophical problems. Tilley develops Bakhtin's thoughtful analysis of the polyphony of the novel using communication theory and readers/hearer response criticism, and by using Bakhtin's operatic image of polyphony to show the error of taking "faith vs. reason", argues that at the end of the novel, the characters learned to carry on, in a quiet shared commitment to memory and hope.

Contenu
Prologue Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: Reasoning Faith Chapter 2: How to Hear a Polyphonic Novel Chapter 3: Six Patterns of Rationality and Irrationality Chapter 4: Conversions Chapter 5: The Unconverted Chapter 6: Returning His Ticket and Refusing Freedom Chapter 7: The Social Vision of the Novel: Exegesis Chapter 8: Sobornost' in The Brothers Karamazov: Analysis Chapter 9: The Karamazov Case: Hurrah for Karamazov Bibliography Index