Everything is permitted
-Ivan Fyodorovich Karamazov?
I've been reading TBK recently and one thing that's stood out to me is that throughout the book people keep throwing around this line, allegedly said by Ivan, and misrepresenting it to mean something quite different to what I think he intended.
Before I get into it though I would like to preface this by saying I am not an Atheist, nor do I know any Atheists personally so if I'm misinterpreting or misunderstanding Atheism I apologise in advance and welcome your feedback.
Now, without further ado, one thing which is curious, if rather frustrating, about this line is that Ivan never said it. It is a line which arose from a concept of Ivan’s which Miusov, I believe, mentions when the Karamazovs go to the monastery at the start of the book. And, in fact, unless Miusov himself failed to mention it, the line was never said in the first place. The phrase 'everything is permitted' is a summary of a much more nuanced idea which Ivan expressed some five days prior to the events at the monastery and which Miusov repeats here.
It is clear on reading this passage that this can be summed up, if some of the nuance lost, in the phrase, 'Without God, everything is permitted.'
Shortly after Miusov repeats this idea of Ivan's, Dmitri clarifies by saying this.
And as is seen in the text, it is Father Paissy who confirms Dmitri has understood correctly and not Ivan. It is clear that were Dmitri, and it seems Father Paissy's, understanding of what Ivan has said to be summed up, again with some of the nuance lost, it would be with the phrase, 'Everything is permitted.'
Thus it is clear that we are already two steps removed from Ivan by the time we reach that phrase, which shows us that it is not something he said, but rather, I would venture to posit, a misunderstanding of his original idea. In fact, curiously enough, the most accurate quotation of the idea comes from Rakitin.
So why is he constantly misquoted? I would venture to say that it is because most characters don't fully understand Ivan's philosophy and mistakenly believe he's an Atheist. If Ivan was an Atheist and believed there is no God than, it stands to reason, by his own word, everything would be permitted. Hence, characters, looking at his idea with an Atheist lens, misunderstand the idea and misquote him. But despite what he said over the cognac Ivan does believe in God, what he cannot accept however is his world, as we see from his conversation with Alexei in the tavern. He says, ‘And so, I accept God, not only willingly, but moreover, I also accept his wisdom and his purpose, which are completely unknown to us…’ Thus it is clear that Ivan does believe in God. But his philosophy is so detailed, and so contradictory—it is my personal belief that Ivan’s beliefs on God and religion are contradictory—that most people who talk to him mistakenly believe he is an Atheist. Which is why he is so consistently misquoted as saying ‘everything is permitted.’
But as proven above Ivan does believe in God and this puts his idea in a new light. In fact, it means that if one wanted to some up his idea he is saying everything is not permitted. Because God does exist. Because man’s belief in immortality is not destroyed and thus some things are immoral. I am by no means saying that Ivan is a Christian. It is my personal interpretation of his character that he believes in God but as he cannot accept his world he rejects Him and is thus not a Christian. However, due to his belief in God one cannot paraphrase him by saying ‘everything is permitted’ because that is not what he meant. He does believe in God, thus if one wanted to some up his idea it would be with the phrase, ‘Without God, everything is permitted’ or ‘everything is not permitted’.
However, on hearing the version of his idea that other character’s attribute to him, Ivan states that now that the word has already been spoken, he won’t renounce it, even stating that Dmitri’s version is ‘not so bad.’ However, he does mention that Dmitri has naively rephrased his idea, perhaps hinting that he has not understood it. It is up to interpretation whether the version he won’t renounce is his own original version or the version other characters attribute to him. I would venture to posit that it is quite possible that Ivan is conflicted by these two interpretations of his idea and that is why he turns pale upon Alexei mentioning it after their conversation in the tavern. It is clear from his reaction to believing himself guilty of his father’s death that he does not really believe ‘everything is permitted’.
Therefore, it is clear that the phrase, ‘everything is permitted’ is mistakenly attributed to Ivan by characters in the book as it is a summary of a misinterpretation of a much more nuanced idea.
