The Man From The Underground: Lessons in Misery and Nihilism

The Man From The Underground's misery stems from inaction, nihilism, cowardice, irresponsibility, and intellectual arrogance, warning against these traits for a fulfilling life.

### Dostoevsky's Warning: 5 Lessons from Notes From The Underground
* 🤔 The narrator's intense misery stems from his failure to act on his thoughts and promises, leading to **self-contempt and learned helplessness**.
* 😈 His nihilistic attitude, viewing others as enemies and feeling no goodwill towards humanity, results in **spite, alienation, and a miserable life**.
* 🏃 By avoiding challenges, he remains a coward and **misses opportunities for growth and connection**.
* 🔄 He constantly evades responsibility, blaming others for his unhappiness and **refusing to take charge of his life**.
* 🧠 His intellectual arrogance, believing his bleak worldview is the **only intelligent perspective**, prevents him from **learning, evolving, and seeking help**.

I am a sick man. I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. So begins Doo's Notes From The Underground. It is the story of a retired middle management civil servant who's just turned 40 and is completely, utterly miserable. He lives in squalor in a tiny underground flat and has not a friend to his name. This book is Dov's great warning to us all: do not live like this man or you will end up like him. Here, I will break down what I see as the key lessons we can take from the story of The Man From The Underground and how he can avoid his painful footsteps or step right in them if you've got a masochistic streak. One: the man does nothing but think. Everything Notes From The Underground is full of the narrator saying that he will do something. He says he will challenge an insulting acquaintance to a duel, but he never follows through. He says he will start a brawl with a military officer, but he never does. He wishes all sorts of spiteful and hateful misfortunes upon

the people around him but barely raises a finger to make this happen. His inner monologue is all bark but his outer action show no bite, and this is one of the key components to his intense misery. The narrator divides the world into two types of people: people who act and people who think, and he shows intense envy for the people who act. They get things done, they are virile, active, and will stop at nothing to get their way, whereas the person who merely thinks may conceive of grand ideas but they're ultimately ineffectual. What do their ideas matter if they cannot act on them or even speak of them in public? This inability to enact his desire slowly eats away at the narrator and erodes his self-respect. His inner monologue is full of thoughts cursing himself for not acting and promising to act next time, fully in the knowledge that when the time comes, he never will. I think a lot of us can relate to this feeling on a smaller scale. How many times have you promised to yourself or others that you

would do something, but then failed to keep your word. Societally, we talk a lot about how this will make others trust you less, but the far greater consequence is that you will trust you less. You will lose your own respect and start to see yourself as incapable of action. Just like the man from the underground, this will lead you into a form of learned helplessness. There is one story from the book that's a particularly good example of this. The narrator has felt insulted by an acquaintance, Zov, and vows that he will slap him in the face to restore his self-respect. He takes a carriage to where he believes Zov to be, but when he arrives, Zverkov is nowhere to be found. Having encountered this small obstacle, the narrator immediately gives up. Think about that for a second. The narrator has explicitly said multiple times that this slap is the only thing that will restore his self-respect, and yet he gives up at the slightest inconvenience. He holds himself in such low esteem that he no

longer even cares if he respects himself so D's warning to us all here is to take at least some lessons from the people of action sitting and promising yourself that you will do something though you know you won't follow through with it carries the risk of eventually causing you to hold yourself in contempt and that is a price no one should be willing to pay for more on philosophy and the art of learning subscribe to my email list the link is in the description two he is an nihilist The Man From The Underground is a little bit like an edgy teenage boy that is never grown out of his Bleak nihilistic phase one of the most telling passages from a monologue by the narrator reads I say let the world go to hell but I should always have my tea he's essentially saying that he cares nothing for his fellow man but is happy to see them all burn as long as he himself remains okay this as far as Doki is concerned is the ethics of a demon and he displays perfectly well how

this sort of attitude leads to misery. Since the narrator feels no commonality with other people, he is always on the defensive. He only sees them as potential threats or enemies, but never as friends. After all, to consider someone a friend is to say that you care about their well-being, that they are close to your heart. The narrator has already ruled out anything of the sort. He is convinced that to believe anything else is just superstitious, and he considers this nihilism to be the educated position on ethics. Of course, this inevitably leads him to conflicts. The narrator perceives every action someone takes as a danger to him. He interprets neutral actions as threatening, and annoying actions as if they were mortal wounds. In one lengthy section of the book, he describes how he was so irritated at the haughty demeanor of the military officer that he spent months tracking him down just so he could bump into him on the street. He did this because, as far as he was concerned, the officer had dealt him a grave insult by not paying him adequate courtesy.

officer, for his part, did not even realize the narrator existed. So deep did the narrator's hatred of others go that he would spend this amount of time attempting to correct some imagined wrong that didn't even exist. He describes how he would wake up in the middle of the night in a fury at this total stranger who had done nothing more than ignore him. The man from the underground is tormented by imaginary demons born from his own lack of goodwill towards humanity, and this stretches to how he treats people he doesn't even think have wronged him. He describes at length how he was needlessly cruel in his Civil Service post, inconveniencing and denying people whenever he could just so he could enjoy watching them suffer. In his twisted worldview, it was every man for themselves, and he did not owe anyone else in the world anything at all. But this view distorted him, made him full of spite, alienated him from everyone around him, and ultimately ruined his life.

we can see small tendencies of this in our own lives. We all sometimes unjustly treat others with suspicion they have not earned. Perhaps they remind us of someone that has wronged us in the past, or they just caught us in a particularly paranoid mood. In recent years, some attention has been drawn to how unfair this is on the suspected, but very little attention has been given to how much it harms the suspect. Treating other people with ill will, spite, and hatred will do more to hurt you than it will ever do to hurt them. And this is a rare point on which Jesus, the Buddha, and Dovi all seem to agree. Three he evades challenge time and time again. You see the narrator running from challenge, and as a result, you see how he will never grow as a person. One of the first things he says in the book is that he quit his job the first chance he had, and he has not applied himself to anything since. He has nothing that fills the void left by this lack of challenge in his life.

leads to suffering. In his avoidance of challenge, he has given himself the greatest challenge of all: a life with no point. This is all in spite of the fact that he fully recognizes that struggle is an important component to a meaningful and fulfilling life. He describes people like chess players that would not want to give up the game if you offered them all the riches in the world; the point is in the play. The Man From The Underground is somebody who has given up the game entirely, and then he wonders why he's not having any fun. This attitude has consequences both in the short and the long term. For the narrator, in the short term, it turns him into an utter coward. Every time he faces a challenge or feels fear or has to rise to an occasion, he avoids it like the plague, and as a result, he never becomes any braver. At various points, he describes wanting to get into fights or challenge someone to a duel or in some way put himself In Harm's Way, but he never follows through. He is a victim of

his own cowardice, and that cowardice has only arisen because of his continual retreat from any meaningful struggle in his life. One of the most interesting passages in the book is where the Narrator briefly strikes up a connection with the prostitute Liza and gives her his address. This could have formed a way out for the man underground. It could have been the beginning of his reconnection with society and with his fellow human being, but instead he is immediately seized with irrational terror and embarrassment at his humble flat. And when she visits, he insults her to such an extent that she leaves, and he never sees her again. He was so scared of human connection and so cowardly in character that he threw away his one shot at slowly reclaiming his life from despair. Dostoevsky here hammers home the dire consequences of cowardice. Without some modicum of bravery built from overcoming challenges in our lives, we doom ourselves to whatever circumstance fate happens to throw in our laps. So think to

your own life. What challenges are you avoiding? I'll start. I'm a singer in my spare time, and I've been avoiding certain auditions for fear that I will be rejected and told that I'm not good enough. But with this tough love from Dooi, I've booked two auditions in the next month. I don't know what will come of them, but I think in my own small way, I've learned a lesson from Doo's cautionary tale. For he avoids responsibility. It has often been said that the hallmark of an adult is someone who can take responsibility for their own actions. There is a reason we don't throw toddlers in prison for hitting one another in the playground. We don't consider them responsible for those actions. But as soon as one comes of age, it is expected that we take full responsibility for our choices and deal with their consequences. The man from the underground is the perfect example of why it is imperative that we do this. He takes every opportunity to offload the

responsibility for his life onto someone else. He feels it is the fault of others that he's unhappy. He blames his acquaintances for his lack of self-respect. He blames the world for his lack of friends. Instead of facing the fact that he's a fundamentally unlikable person, he blames the people around him for being too stupid to understand him. Instead of recognizing that he is unremarkable to most people, he demands recognition for his mere existence. He's a sort of incel but in every aspect of his life. His refusal to take any responsibility for his actions means his situation is genuinely hopeless. In a particularly poignant moment in the book Liza The Prostitute, he's befriended. Embraces him out of pity and he says they won't let me. I cannot be good again. He interprets the world's reaction at his immensely hostile behavior as a dire injustice rather than a reasonable response to his cruelty and his hate. This for me is the moment where the fate of the narrator is sealed. It is when he

has hammered home the final nail in his own coffin. Not only has he ruined his life for no reason, but he has rejected any hope of escaping his situation. This piece of wisdom from Dostoevski is echoed through the works of other existentialist philosophers like Jean-Paul Sartre, who recognizes that taking responsibility for your own life is psychologically incredibly difficult. It is often far easier to point the finger at the world or at other people, anywhere but in our reflection in the mirror. And the narrator secretly seems to know that he's being pathetic. He constantly runs from his own reflection in the book, a nice image capturing how he cannot stand to be in his own company. After all, he has rejected one of the only qualities that commands respect from most people. He has made himself pitiable by his own values, and there's no quicker way to become miserable than that. If other people lose respect for you, you might not always be in their company, but if you lose your own respect, you'll be trapped forever in your own self-hating.

spiral five he is intellectually arrogant lastly The Man From The Underground Dooms himself by his own intellectual arrogance. He could at any point turn back from the disastrous life he's carved out for himself, but instead he forges onward and downward because he is so convinced of his own rightness. During the book, he's constantly presented with challenges to his worldview. There are his old school friends who have all achieved greater success than him and seem more amiable towards others in the world. There is Liza who manages to show optimism and empathy in the bleakest of personal circumstances, and he writes at length of approaches more successful and meaningful than his current attitude to life, but he disregards all of them on one flimsy reason: those approaches are not as intelligent as his. He regards his bleak, cowardly nihilism as the natural position of the intelligent and educated man and refuses to budge on this for any reason. In his arrogance, he thinks he knows more than anyone around him.

despite not demonstrating that knowledge at all in any of the book. He is someone who is reasonably well-read and reasonably clever who has seemed to convince himself that he is a once-in-a-generation genius. His delusions of grandeur prevent him from taking any advice from others, even when it would clearly benefit, and it gives him somewhere to retreat to when he's embarrassed by the material or spiritual success of others. After all, he is too intelligent for society, so no wonder he's found little success in it. I think Dovi is warning us here about a particular kind of person that many of us are at risk of becoming. Chances are if you've clicked on a video about Dovi, you're probably well-read and clever. But Dovi warns people like your good self who love learning not to get carried away into the realm of intellectual arrogance where learning then becomes impossible. This, in my opinion, is one of the overlooked components of the narrator character in the novel. His

arrogant assumption that his way is the most intelligent way ensures that he will continue on his doomed path forever. It should set off alarm bells in us all. Anyone can be saved from a path of self-destruction, provided that they have an open mind and are willing to learn new things, experiment with new outlooks, and continue developing as a person. The Man From The Underground has shut himself off from any such Evolution and has confined his character to be static and stagnant, all because he thinks he knows better than everyone else. Subscribe to both my Channel and my email list for more on thinking to improve your life.

Dostoevsky’s guide to destroying your life (Notes from The Underground)

Unsolicited advice

Lessons from Dostoevsky's Notes From The Underground

The narrator's intense misery stems from his inaction and inability to follow through with his desires, leading to a loss of self-respect.

This highlights the consequences of making promises and not keeping them, eroding not only trust from others but also self-trust.

The narrator's pattern of vowing to act but then giving up at the slightest obstacle reflects a sense of learned helplessness, which can resonate with many people's experiences.

The Destructive Ethical Philosophy of the Man From the Underground

The Man From the Underground embodies nihilistic and destructive ethics, caring for no one but himself.

His lack of goodwill towards others leads to misery and ultimately ruins his life.

His distorted worldview causes him to perceive every action as a threat, leading to unnecessary conflicts and torment.

The Harmful Effects of Avoiding Challenges

Unjustly treating others with suspicion can be more damaging to the suspect than to the suspected.

The avoidance of challenges leads to a life without purpose or fulfillment, turning the individual into a coward and preventing personal growth.

This behavior also results in missed opportunities for meaningful connections and ultimately leads to a life of despair.

Avoiding challenges can hinder personal growth, as seen in the example of a singer overcoming fear of rejection.

The transition to adulthood is marked by the ability to take responsibility for one's choices and their outcomes.

The consequence of avoiding responsibility is highlighted through the hopeless situation of the man from the underground, leading to a lack of personal development and empathy.

The Self-Destruction of the Narrator in Dostoevski's Work

The narrator's refusal to take responsibility for his own life leads to his own misery and self-hatred.

His intellectual arrogance and refusal to consider alternative worldviews doom him to a bleak existence.

Despite being presented with opportunities for a more meaningful life, he dismisses them in favor of his own perceived intelligence.

The narrator in the novel is portrayed as a delusional genius who rejects advice and isolates himself due to his supposed intellectual superiority.

The character serves as a warning against the trap of intellectual arrogance and the inability to learn from others.

The novel highlights the importance of open-mindedness and continuous personal development, emphasizing the dangers of becoming stagnant in one's own perceived intelligence.