GrandInquisitor
Iron
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2026
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“Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.”
— Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment
The Burden of Thought
To think is to distinguish; to distinguish is to compare; to compare is to judge. Every judgment presupposes a standard, and every standard makes deficiency conceivable. Thus thought, by making what is present against what ought to be, makes dissatisfaction possible. Reflection then seeks to overcome the deficiency it has disclosed; but where no adequate remedy is found, thought does not remove suffering it renders it conscious. And since the intellect cannot simply suspend its own activity, the suffering disclosed by thought cannot simply be escaped.
— Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment
The Burden of Thought
To think is to distinguish; to distinguish is to compare; to compare is to judge. Every judgment presupposes a standard, and every standard makes deficiency conceivable. Thus thought, by making what is present against what ought to be, makes dissatisfaction possible. Reflection then seeks to overcome the deficiency it has disclosed; but where no adequate remedy is found, thought does not remove suffering it renders it conscious. And since the intellect cannot simply suspend its own activity, the suffering disclosed by thought cannot simply be escaped.
