--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it's a misreading of Dostoevsky…" description: "\"I think it's a misreading of Dostoevsky to think of him as a programmatic theist. He's actually much closer to someone like William James. He's actuall..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/will-self-2296_dostoevsky_i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky_836422.jpg" --- # I think it's a misreading of Dostoevsky to think of him as… ![“I think it's a misreading of Dostoevsky to think of him as a programmatic theist. He's actually much closer to someone like William James. He's actually a pragmatist.” quote by Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/will-self-2296_dostoevsky_i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky_836422.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/will-self-2296_dostoevsky_i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky_836422.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/will-self-2296_dostoevsky_i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky_836422.jpg) > “I think it's a misreading of Dostoevsky to think of him as a programmatic theist. He's actually much closer to someone like William James. He's actually a pragmatist.” [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dostoevsky aligns more with pragmatic philosophy like William James than with strict theism. **In simple terms:** He is a pragmatist, not a programmatic theist. Key Takeaway Consider practical implications of ideas. Themes philosophy literature pragmatism theism Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic debate - teaching philosophy - personal worldview Key Concepts existentialism psychology epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How does pragmatism affect reading Dostoevsky? - What benefits arise from viewing him as a pragmatist? A Different Perspective Labeling can limit nuanced interpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Misreading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misreading/) [Pragmatists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pragmatists/) [Theist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theist/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Dostoevsky does not exist for me. Virginia Woolf does not exist for me. Her essays are quite good, but her novels are not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-mar-as/dostoevsky-does-not-exist-for-me-virginia-woolf-does-not-exist-for-me/) [Javier Marias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-mar-as/) > [ We misread the Fifth Amendment \[of Constitution\] and have been misreading it for the past three decades. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/we-misread-the-fifth-amendment-of-constitution-and-have-been/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [Misreading is a big part of reading, the way in which the level of attention you're paying can lead to some interesting residue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/misreading-is-a-big-part-of-reading-the-way-in-which-the-level-of/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [Kant argued that, where nature could be considered beautiful in her acts of destruction, human violence appeared instead as monstrous. However, a misreading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-marshall/kant-argued-that-where-nature-could-be-considered-beautiful-in-her/) [Richard Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-marshall/) > [Los Angeles had no culture of its own, just a large collection of misreadings of the artistic histories of other, proper cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/los-angeles-had-no-culture-of-its-own-just-a-large-collection-of/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [“I’m sorry. I may have been misreading the signals. I thought … I sort of thought you’d been flirting with me. I didn’t say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/i-m-sorry-i-may-have-been-misreading-the-signals-i-thought-i-sort-of/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [In a language as idiomatically stressed as English, opportunities for misreadings are bound to arise. By a mere backward movement of stress, a verb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/in-a-language-as-idiomatically-stressed-as-english-opportunities-for/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Every reading is a misreading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-rose/every-reading-is-a-misreading/) [Phyllis Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-rose/) > [“Fifteen love,' Chris said in a strong, clear voice as he set up for his next serve, and Elizabeth sensed that in addition to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-pascal/fifteen-love-chris-said-in-a-strong-clear-voice-as-he-set-up-for-his/) [Francine Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-pascal/) > [I think the Greek New Testament is the strongest and most successful misreading of a great prior text in the entire history of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-think-the-greek-new-testament-is-the-strongest-and-most-successful/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“Rob turned the rustling pages and grinned. 'Ach, she's writ here: "Oh, the dear Feegles ha' turned up again,"' he said. This met with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/rob-turned-the-rustling-pages-and-grinned-ach-she-s-writ-here-oh-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, of course, lays out the delegated, enumerated, and therefore limited powers of Congress. Only through a deliberate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-crane/article-i-section-8-of-the-constitution-of-course-lays-out-the/) [Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-crane/) > [But, in the end, the books that surround me are the books that made me, through my reading (and misreading) of them; they fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramona-koval/but-in-the-end-the-books-that-surround-me-are-the-books-that-made-me/) [Ramona Koval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramona-koval/) > [I have spent my life watching, not to see beyond the world, merely to see, great mystery, what is plainly before my eyes. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-have-spent-my-life-watching-not-to-see-beyond-the-world-merely-to/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [You gave me emotions that I read as love, little did I you cared about me no more than a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-smith/you-gave-me-emotions-that-i-read-as-love-little-did-i-you-cared-about/) [Mike Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-smith/) ## More by Will Self > [As for critical writing about modernism, its moments of lucidity are but fulgurations illuminating the dark and incomprehensible landscape of its subject's unabashed difficulty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-for-critical-writing-about-modernism-its-moments-of-lucidity-are/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“As my voice died away I became conscious of the voice of another woman two tables away. I couldn't hear what she was saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-my-voice-died-away-i-became-conscious-of-the-voice-of-another/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [That tertiary education is under a sustained assault by a political and - it often seems - social consensus that equates all education with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/that-tertiary-education-is-under-a-sustained-assault-by-a-political/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'm an anarchist. I'm implacably opposed to heirarchical systems of power and control. I also mistrust crowds, as they often operate according to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-an-anarchist-i-m-implacably-opposed-to-heirarchical-systems-of/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [What fiction offers us is an intimacy shorn of the messy contingencies of human existence - gender, race, class or age. Those moments of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/what-fiction-offers-us-is-an-intimacy-shorn-of-the-messy/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'd rather fiddle with my phone for precious seconds than neglect an apostrophe; I'd rather insert a word laboriously keyed out than resort to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-d-rather-fiddle-with-my-phone-for-precious-seconds-than-neglect-an/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I'm very happy for whatever plaudits might come the way of my work, but I never ever sit down to write x with y…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-very-happy-for-whatever-plaudits-might-come-the-way-of-my-work/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [As a writer, I'm not convinced that we are the best equipped to understand how we go about the business of literary production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/as-a-writer-i-m-not-convinced-that-we-are-the-best-equipped-to/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“I explained to him - as I withdrew the cup, ripped open the sachet and dunked the tea bag - that tea was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-explained-to-him-as-i-withdrew-the-cup-ripped-open-the-sachet-and/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [There is something mysteriously powerful that can happen when young, inchoate minds come into contact with older and more worldly ones in a spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/there-is-something-mysteriously-powerful-that-can-happen-when-young/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [It would seem that I, who never could make much sense of physics when I was at school, have now gained a strong sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/it-would-seem-that-i-who-never-could-make-much-sense-of-physics-when/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [Drug use and procrastination often go hand in tourniquet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/drug-use-and-procrastination-often-go-hand-in-tourniquet/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“…with the morbid realisation that his sexual being was a dull thing, a lifeless thing, a mass-produced marionette with chipped paint and fraying strings”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/with-the-morbid-realisation-that-his-sexual-being-was-a-dull-thing-a/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [A creative life cannot be sustained by approval any more than it can be destroyed by criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/a-creative-life-cannot-be-sustained-by-approval-any-more-than-it-can/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I don't think in terms of that bizarre tautology 'value for money' in my literary and journalistic work - and nor will I in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-don-t-think-in-terms-of-that-bizarre-tautology-value-for-money-in/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) [Explore all 172 Will Self quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) ## More Dostoevsky quotes > [ “\[Dostoyevsky\] eloquently proves that heartless ideas are often a source of immorality: they bring with them destructiveness, hatred, cynicism, and misanthropy. The novelist also… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-l-kline/dostoyevsky-eloquently-proves-that-heartless-ideas-are-often-a-source/) George L. Kline > [“He main retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevsky said once, 'There is only one thing that I dread: not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/he-main-retain-his-human-dignity-even-in-a-concentration-camp/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“So against the grain I serve to produce events and do what’s irrational because I am commanded to. For all their indisputable intelligence, men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/so-against-the-grain-i-serve-to-produce-events-and-do-what-s/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“Then it happened. One night as the rain beat on the slanted kitchen roof a great spirit slipped forever into my life. I held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/then-it-happened-one-night-as-the-rain-beat-on-the-slanted-kitchen/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) > [“A drunken but exceedingly depressed German clown from Munich entertained the public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/a-drunken-but-exceedingly-depressed-german-clown-from-munich/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“It was not surprising that after the war Dostoevsky was linked to Kierkegaard as a prophet of social resignation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jay/it-was-not-surprising-that-after-the-war-dostoevsky-was-linked-to/) Martin Jay > ['The Gambler' by Dostoevsky. It was the first time I realised that it was possible to have good and evil in one person. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-townsend/the-gambler-by-dostoevsky-it-was-the-first-time-i-realised-that-it/) [Sue Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-townsend/) > [Dostoevsky's underground man ... observes his contemporaries striving to establish false goals where there are no naturally generated ones. ... He argues they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carroll/dostoevsky-s-underground-man-observes-his-contemporaries-striving-to/) [John Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carroll/) > [Back when George W. Bush was identifying his Axis of Evil, it struck me that a longer and more instructive list could be compiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-schmemann/back-when-george-w-bush-was-identifying-his-axis-of-evil-it-struck-me/) [Serge Schmemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-schmemann/) > [Dostoevsky preaches the morality of the pariah, the morality of the slave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-brandes/dostoevsky-preaches-the-morality-of-the-pariah-the-morality-of-the/) [Georg Brandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-brandes/) > [“That distinctive singular stamp of himself is one of the main reasons readers come to love an author. The way you can just tell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/that-distinctive-singular-stamp-of-himself-is-one-of-the-main-reasons/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Enjoyment is more subjective than evaluation. Whether you prefer peaches to pears is a question of taste, which is not quite true of whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/enjoyment-is-more-subjective-than-evaluation-whether-you-prefer/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [ “Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (November 11 \[O.S. October 30\] 1821 – February 9 \[O.S. January 28\] 1881) is considered one of two greatest prose writers… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/fyodor-mikhailovich-dostoevsky-november-11-o-s-october-30-1821/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“His unrivaled genius as an ideological novelist was this capacity to invent actions and situations in which ideas dominate behavior without the latter becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-frank/his-unrivaled-genius-as-an-ideological-novelist-was-this-capacity-to/) Joseph Frank > [The other side of my work is political disappointment - the realization that we are living in an unjust world. "Blood is being spilled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/the-other-side-of-my-work-is-political-disappointment-the-realization/) [Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/) Browse all 98 Dostoevsky quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think it's a misreading of Dostoevsky to think of him as a programmatic theist. He's actually much closer to someone like William James. He's actually a pragmatist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Will Self" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky-to-think-of-him-as-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dostoevsky" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky-to-think-of-him-as-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/will-self-2296_dostoevsky_i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky_836422.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/will-self-2296_dostoevsky_i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky_836422.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ef/will-self-2296_dostoevsky_i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky_836422.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think it's a misreading of Dostoevsky to think of him as a programmatic theist. He's actually much closer…” — Will Self", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Will Self", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think it's a misreading of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky-to-think-of-him-as-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-think-it-s-a-misreading-of-dostoevsky-to-think-of-him-as-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```