ABSTRACT

The essay offers a juridical-philosophical reflection on Dostoevsky’s Legend of the Grand Inquisitor, read as a radical critique of the relationship between freedom, power, and human nature. Starting from the dialogue between Ivan and Alyosha in The Brothers Karamazov, the author analyzes the central thesis that evil is tied to freedom and to the temptation to eliminate it through a form of power that relieves human beings of responsibility. The figure of the Inquisitor becomes the emblem of a paternalistic authority that, by denying freedom, promises bread, security, and peace of mind. The essay explores the anthropological, political, and spiritual implications of the tale, questioning whether happiness consists of mere material well-being or in the fulfillment of the human creative dimension. In contrasting Christ’s law of love with the authoritarian logic of the Inquisitor, the author reflects on the role of salvation in both religious and secular terms. The final part discusses the prophetic dimension of the text, rereading it in light of contemporary societies dominated by technology, the market, and homogenization, where freedom risks being reduced to a mere choice among consumer goods. The proposed way out, in conclusion, lies in a return to silence, interiority, and faith—religious or human—which can restore meaning, direction, and responsibility to human life.