Dostoevsky wrote The Cockroach Man (or Notes from the Underground) in response to Nikolai Chernyshevsky's What is to be Done?, which promoted the theory of rational optimism. The premise is that humans are selfish by nature, which causes them to make all their decisions to secure their own personal interests. They are also rational by nature, and therefore, their decisions are calculated according to the rules of logic and scientific calculations, as far as their knowledge allows. Consequently, the results of their work for their own benefit will necessarily be consistent with the interests of society and contribute to the advancement of civilization. This idealized image of humanity and excessive optimism were the prevailing mood in Europe due to the great successes of the Industrial Revolution and the successive achievements of science. The Cockroach Man thus came as an early warning, dispelling the euphoria of European victories and accomplishments, making it a target for accusations of pessimism and gloom, or even that it represented a threat to human thought. This continued until the outbreak of World War I, with its massacres and atrocities, served as a shock that prompted a revision of this idealized image of humanity.