In This Scene from Dostoevsky's the Brothers Karamazov, Ivan Karamazov

question 15

Multiple Choice

In this scene from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan Karamazov explains to his pious younger brother, Alyosha, a Christian monk, why he cannot accept God. Ivan's impediment to full devotion to God is the problem of evil. He declares that there is untold, unfathomable suffering in the world-suffering such as that of a little child who is tortured, mutilated, and murdered by a ruthless general for no reason. God allows this suffering, but no adequate justification or explanation can be given why God would permit such evil.
-Ivan says that he cannot and will not accept

• A) God.
• B) God's grand scheme of higher harmony through suffering.
• C) God's punishment of guilty adults.
• D) God's kind treatment of children.

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Definitions:

Nonshared Environmental Effect

Refers to the environmental factors that contribute to the differences in development among siblings within the same family.

Teratogens

Substances or factors that can cause congenital deformities or developmental abnormalities in an embryo or fetus.

Blastocyst

An early stage in the development of an embryo, consisting of a sphere of cells surrounding a fluid-filled cavity, before implantation in the uterus.

Ectoderm

The outermost layer of cells or tissue of an embryo in early development, which gives rise to the central nervous system, skin, and other structures.