F. M. Dostoevsky – a writer or a thinker?

Abstract

The object of this research is the works of the prominent Russian writer F. M. Dostoevsky. The subject of this research is the opinion whether F. M. Dostoevsky first and foremost is the Russian philosopher and thinker, and only then a writer. The author examines the peculiarities of such roles in culture as philosopher, thinker and writer, which gives grounds to question unambiguous reference of the works of prominent Russian writer as activity of the thinker. The peculiarity consists in the fact that F. M. Dostoevsky’s literary texts is so rich in images and themes, that shifting the specificity of his artistic image into the background is not quite justified. Special attention is given to clarification of the essence of activity of the philosopher and the writer. The key research method is the comparative analysis of the facts of such types of social practice as the profession of writer, philosopher and thinker in their relation to the fundamental concepts of time, space, text and nature of its perception from the outside perspective .The main conclusion consists in the statement that the philosophical text maintains neutrality in relation to time, as is being written from the standpoint of eternity. Literary text, in turn, is “submerged” in time and space of the events taking place within it, and relies on recognizability of the characters and their existential characteristics. F. M. Dostoevsky appears to the audience as the creator of storylines and images, rather than a person who sets the trends and concepts of social movements.