“I love mankind, but I am amazed at myself: the more I love mankind in general, the less I love people in particular.”Feodor Dostoievski · Frații Karamazov · 1880 · Cartea a 2-a, capitolul 4
Loving humanity costs only words; loving actual people costs time and ego.
Dostoevsky puts into Ivan Karamazov's mouth a confession that dismantles salon humanism. Mankind is a clean idea, without smells, demands, or tedious parts. The person next to you, in the morning, with his small and irritating requests, asks for real patience. Abstract love costs only words; the particular kind costs time and ego. An activist who writes passionately about everyone's rights but cannot stand the noisy neighbor lives exactly this paradox.
Why it matters It offers an honest test for personal idealism: if it cannot survive contact with actual people, it is more aesthetics than love.