Onur Aydın
ABSTRACT
Nihilism, whose conceptual boundaries were drawn by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, became famous with Ivan S. Turgenev’s novel Fathers and Sons. Based on nihilism and Bazarov’s character, the novel causes great controversy. Within the scope of our study, Western and Russian nihilism is explained with a descriptive and comparative method, followed by the novel Fathers and Sons being discussed with an interrogative and critical method. By trying to illuminate Bazarov’s contradictory and Arkady’s hidden inner worlds, the novel’s transition from nihilism to the skepticism and model of a community of inquiry is revealed. In light of the examination, it is discovered that Arkady is the real nihilist character, and that he carries the message of necessity of social reconciliation which the author wants to convey. Turgenev gives nihilism’s task of denial to Bazarov; the task of interpreting, taking responsibility, and acting to Arkady; and the call of reconciliation to the Russian people, particularly the youth. As a conclusion, the author advises the public to not believe everything they may have heard concerning nihilism, to approach new information with distance through skepticism, to access organized and accurate information through a structure similar to the model of community of inquiry, and proposes the salvation of Russia through social reconciliation.
KEYWORDS: Nihilism, community of inquiry, Turgenev, Fathers and Sons, Bazarov, Arkady
DOI: 10.30395/WSR.202506_18(2).0003
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