Crime And Punishment

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of two German thinkers of the time.
One of these philosophers is George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who had formulated a conception of an exceptional individual he called a “superman”. Hegel’s superman exists for good purposes. He stands above and beyond the ordinary man and works for the good of all men. The most controversial part of this superman theory that Raskolnikov obviously adopts is the Machiavellian belief that the end justifies the mean. This means that anything that could have a beneficial outcome for many should be considered regardless of the sacrifice of the few. If the intent is noble the method will be justified. According to Hegel, any damaging part of a community should be removed, and one tiny crime will be wiped clean by the good deeds that occur because of it.
Another prevalent German theorist was Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche who had a differing opinion of the superman. His idea was that the superman does not live for benefit of society, but ...

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