He claims that people value the ability to apply their individual free will, even if it runs contrary to their best interests, more than their value of reason. The underground man's arguments for freedom address Chernyshevsky's 'rational egoism.' He believes freedom cannot be calculated; Dostoevsky's arguments against rational egoism proceeds as such, "And since all wantings and reasonings can indeed be calculated - because, after all, they will someday discover the laws of our so-called free will - then consequently, and joking aside, something like a little table can be arranged, so that we shall indeed want according to this little table" (27). The Underground Man ridicules the type of enlightened self-interest that Chernyshevsky claims as the foundation of an idealistic world. The abstract idea of cultural and legislative systems relying on this rational egoism is what the protagonist detests. Where the Underground Man places himself in this messy view of society can be quite complicated. He is very open about his dislikes of the world, but he also admits that he understands the enjoyment in "a cup of tea with sugar in it" (these being symbols of a non-corrupted society). This is what separates him from rational egoists and utopian believers; the desire that comes and goes that makes him want to get involved, could be the conclusion of what drove him to the
He claims that people value the ability to apply their individual free will, even if it runs contrary to their best interests, more than their value of reason. The underground man's arguments for freedom address Chernyshevsky's 'rational egoism.' He believes freedom cannot be calculated; Dostoevsky's arguments against rational egoism proceeds as such, "And since all wantings and reasonings can indeed be calculated - because, after all, they will someday discover the laws of our so-called free will - then consequently, and joking aside, something like a little table can be arranged, so that we shall indeed want according to this little table" (27). The Underground Man ridicules the type of enlightened self-interest that Chernyshevsky claims as the foundation of an idealistic world. The abstract idea of cultural and legislative systems relying on this rational egoism is what the protagonist detests. Where the Underground Man places himself in this messy view of society can be quite complicated. He is very open about his dislikes of the world, but he also admits that he understands the enjoyment in "a cup of tea with sugar in it" (these being symbols of a non-corrupted society). This is what separates him from rational egoists and utopian believers; the desire that comes and goes that makes him want to get involved, could be the conclusion of what drove him to the