Episode Details

In 1882, Nietzsche stated in his book The Gay Science that “God is dead”. He wasn’t celebrating this fact; in fact, he was quite concerned about it. Dostoevsky, the author of some of the greatest books of all time, was concerned as well. In 1879, he published The Brothers Karamazov, and in it, one of his characters said “If God doesn’t exist then everything is permissible”. These statements were made about 3 years about, which is fascinating. Here we have two of the greatest philosophers of all time – one exclaiming almost reluctantly that “God is dead”, the other saying that “If God doesn’t exist then everything goes”. The question, really, becomes: do we need God for morality? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices