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4 essays on this topic.
Demons
Prediction as real knowledge. Asimov imagined a science that could predict the behavior of large groups. Dostoevsky was doing it. He smelled what was coming in Russia and tried to warn us before the spark arrived.
Demons
Games within games. Stavrogin and Gaganov begin a classic duel of escalating brinkmanship. Stavrogin subverts the rules by firing into the air, playing a different game whose only equilibrium is his own death at Gaganov's hand.
Demons
Stavrogin's interest in Marya Lebyatkin began as amusement at her innocence. His silence after taking her home suggests something else, and the rumors are bold enough to mean some part of them is true.
Demons
People can accept an axiom at face value, but seldom can they accept all its conclusions. Follow the denial of God and free will to its end, and you arrive at someone like Kirillov.