“There are other things which a man is afraid to tell even to himself, and every decent man has a number of such things stored away in his mind.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky – Notes from Underground
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Notes from Underground (1864) is a foundational text of existential literature, probing the paradoxes and inner conflicts of human consciousness. The quote is spoken by the novella’s unnamed protagonist, the Underground Man—a figure marked by hyperawareness, self-loathing, and paralyzing introspection. This sentence illustrates one of Dostoevsky’s core insights: the depth of human self-deception and the layers of secret shame and fear that even the most honest individuals conceal from themselves.
Notes from Underground was Dostoevsky’s response to the growing intellectual currents of rational egoism and utopian optimism in 19th-century Russia. Through the internal monologue of the Underground Man, Dostoevsky warns against the dangers of reducing human nature to tidy scientific or logical schemes. He argues that consciousness can become a torment when it turns inward, endlessly dissecting motives, memories, and desires. The narrator is both acutely self-conscious and incapable of action, trapped in a cycle of self-reflection and spite, which he describes as a kind of illness.
Context of the Quote
This passage reflects Dostoevsky’s belief in the complexity and contradiction at the heart of human psychology. The idea that each person hides certain thoughts even from themselves speaks to the unconscious mind’s power and the defense mechanisms we deploy to protect ourselves from uncomfortable truths. For Dostoevsky, true self-knowledge is painful and, therefore, often avoided; we construct elaborate rationalizations and illusions to mask our deeper uncertainties or shame. The Underground Man’s confession is both a critique and a mirror: in his vulnerability, he exposes a universal human tendency.
About Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian novelist, philosopher, and journalist whose works explore the psychological and spiritual depths of his characters. A former political prisoner, Dostoevsky’s novels—including Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, and Notes from Underground—delve into moral dilemmas, the nature of free will, and the search for meaning in a turbulent world. His insights into the shadowy corners of the human mind anticipate many of the ideas later developed in psychology and existential philosophy.
Related Theory: Daniel Goleman and Self-Deception
The themes Dostoevsky investigates find scientific elaboration in the work of Daniel Goleman. Goleman is a psychologist and journalist best known for popularizing the concept of emotional intelligence. His seminal book, Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception (1985), synthesizes decades of research to explain why and how individuals, organizations, and even societies distort reality to avoid painful truths.
Vital Lies, Simple Truths: Core Ideas
- Self-deception is not just a personal failing but an everyday survival strategy; it allows individuals to navigate anxieties and contradictions.
- Goleman describes the psychological mechanisms—such as denial, rationalization, and selective attention—that enable people to protect their sense of self, even at the cost of truth.
- His thesis echoes Dostoevsky’s insight: we all harbor “secret” beliefs or memories that remain just out of conscious reach, shaping our actions and relationships in subtle but profound ways.
Daniel Goleman: Background
- Goleman trained as a psychologist at Harvard and merged academic rigor with journalistic clarity.
- In Vital Lies, Simple Truths, he draws on research in cognitive science, psychoanalysis, and social psychology.
- Goleman later introduced the world to Emotional Intelligence (1995), a groundbreaking concept that has influenced education, business, and therapy.
Intellectual Lineage and Perspective
Both Dostoevsky and Goleman are united in their skepticism toward claims of complete self-knowledge and their recognition that self-deception is an ingrained facet of being human. Dostoevsky frames it as tragic and inescapable, while Goleman provides a scientific explanation for its universality and necessity. Their combined perspectives invite us to consider that clarity about ourselves is a rare achievement—and perhaps, at times, an unbearable one.
