Emmanuel Levinas Research Articles

Paganism as a Political Problem: Levinas’s Understanding of Judaism in the 1930s

In response to the rise of neopagan fascist political theologies in Europe in the 1930s, the young Emmanuel Levinas developed a novel conception of the theopolitical role of Judaism. The existing scholarly consensus maintains that (1) Levinas responded to the rise of pagan Hitlerism by opposing it to a Jewish conception of transcendence and (2) this putative contrast involved a critique of Heidegger’s thought, which Levinas identified with pagan Hitlerism. By focusing on under-examined occasional pieces Levinas wrote in the 1930s, I offer a significantly revised understanding of Levinas’s position in the 1930s. The argument shows how Levinas describes Judaism as a way of ‘being riveted’ that does not resort to transcendence, as does the Greco-Christian West, but rather affirms the immanence of existence while breaking with its disposition to paganism. This places Levinas’s conception of Judaism on the same plane as paganism and within the terms of Heidegger’s philosophy. From this perspective, a new way of understanding Levinas’s theopolitical view of Judaism as “the anti-paganism par excellence” takes shape.

Amitav Ghosh’s The Calcutta Chromosome: A Pluriversal Narrative to Decolonise the Past and Confront Universal Eurocentrism

The Calcutta Chromosome takes readers on a convoluted journey through time and space. At once a work of science fiction, a medical mystery, and a history of malaria research, this hybrid novel sets into rivalry India’s old-time wisdom and spirituality against Western science and English colonial presumptuousness, thus advocating transmodernity and the pluriversality put forward by critics such as Rosa María Rodriguez Magda, Enrique Dussel and Walter Mignolo, among others. This paper will analyse the way in which this novel denies the existence of a universal scientific method by deconstructing the certainties of an exclusively rationalist discourse whose discoveries have often gone hand in hand with exploitation, unequal power relations and colonization. Jacques Derrida’s notion of différance and Emmanuel Levinas’s ideas about the ethics of silence and knowledge will also be used to analyse silence as an alternative epistemological framework through which the dominant discourse can be undermined and the subaltern heard, and as a means to make amends for the injustices of the past by reclaiming the histories written by those who were made ‘others’ by the English imperial power.

Deep ecology and the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas: the importance of moving from biocentric responsibility to environmental justice

Environmental theory and practice can benefit greatly from Emmanuel Levinas’ non-ontological philosophy of the Other in order to address the current global environmental crisis. From this viewpoint, this article focuses on 2 major positions within deep ecology. We discuss the significance of transitioning from one of them, which represents biocentric responsibility, to the other, which seeks to achieve environmental justice by challenging the hegemony of institutionalised environmentalism. In Levinasian terms, this is represented by moving from the anarchic realm of ethics (face-to-face) to the totalising realm of politics (humanity), where the naked face of the Other becomes visible in the presence of a Third, and decision-making and concrete disputes resolution becomes necessary. Within this framework, historical and current inequalities compel the global North to degrow in order to allow the Others to weather the consequences of resource overconsumption and inequality.

Hermeneutics before Ontology: How Later Levinas Better Understands Heidegger

Abstract This paper examines Emmanuel Levinas’s philosophical development from Totality and Infinity to Otherwise than Being as a self-critique and revised understanding of Martin Heidegger. It focuses on later Levinas’s analysis of language in terms of the difference between Saying and Said. For Levinas, the Said represents the betrayal of ethical Saying into ontological essence. This echoes Heidegger’s notion of the forgetfulness of Being in beings. However, Levinas critiques Heidegger’s own philosophy as remaining within the Said. The paper explores three strategies of “unsaying” that Levinas discerns in Western philosophy to disrupt ontological Said: ontology itself, skepticism, and philosophical conversation. It argues that Levinas ultimately seeks an alternative “prophetic” mode of language beyond philosophy that enacts difference, which the paper relates to Talmud. The paper claims that the later Levinas no longer simply opposes Greek to Jewish thought, but rather seeks to deploy a specifically Jewish form of language to interrupt Western metaphysics from within.

Gagarin Sixty Years Later: Earth and Place after Heidegger and Levinas

Abstract In this article I re-examine the well-known distinction between rootedness and uprootedness that Emmanuel Levinas draws in his short text “Heidegger, Gagarin and Us” (1961). This distinction addresses the relation between men and place either as an attachment to place (paganism, Heidegger) or as a freedom with regard to place (Judaism, Gagarin). I question this opposition from a contemporary perspective in environmental philosophy, namely from the growing awareness of the interconnectedness between place and Earth. I contend that this new perspective changes the understanding of dwelling today because of Earth’s exteriority with regard to place. I argue that this exteriority is neither infinite nor a totality.

Wolves as witnesses: animals and depictions of the Holocaust in Misha Defonseca’s Misha and Francesco Lotoro’s Misha e i lupi

ABSTRACT This article investigates animals and the Holocaust through a case study of wolves in Misha Defonseca's fraudulent Holocaust memoir Misha and Francesco Lotoro's opera Misha e i lupi – an adaptation of Defonseca's book. I demonstrate that their respective portrayals of wolves distinguish Defonseca's hoax from Lotoro's musical memorial but, simultaneously, that both versions use animals to illustrate the inhumanity of genocide. Drawing on the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, I dub this phenomenon ‘animal witnessing,' and, given the divergences between Defonseca and Lotoro, I posit that animal witnessing takes animals as a vehicle to expound individualized understandings of the Holocaust.

Exploring Everything, Everywhere, All at Once in the Deleuzean Light of Pure Becoming and Affect

The film Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, which received tremendous praise and won seven Oscars at the 95th Academy Awards, offers an expansive exploration of science fiction, comedy, and a profound investigation into love. This movie goes beyond the typical SF and family drama genres, providing audiences with a reflective experience that encourages a deeper exploration of life’s facets. Centering on family ego conflicts and set against a multiverse backdrop, it challenges the binary concepts of morality.
 This paper endeavors to understand true love and identity through “ethical deconstruction” and “postmodern ethics,” particularly employing Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s concepts of “becoming” and “virtuality,” along with thought from Emmanuel Levinas and the issue of the sublime. The story begins with the dissatisfaction of the Wang family and follows their journey across multiple universes, unveiling the complexities of identity and choice. The work is explained through Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of “becoming,” symbolized by a circular motif representing an endless dynamic process. The narrative emphasizes Evelyn’s transformative journey, challenging the fixed notions of good and evil, and aligns with Deleuze’s transcendental empiricism. Her experiences across universes represent not just shifts in identity but the embodiment of Haecceity, the unique essence of each moment. The film’s narrative is interpreted to showcase the concept of “pure becoming,” emphasizing the transformative role of emotions and experiences beyond moral binaries, inviting viewers to participate in a journey of becoming that leads to empathy and understanding. Exploring Everything, Everywhere, All at Once through Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophies in this way highlights the film’s distinctiveness in exploring identity, love, and existence, allowing viewers to deeply understand and feel moved on an emotional and spiritual level.

The Phenomenology of the Face-to-Facetime: A Levinasian Critique of the Virtual Clinic.

In order to promote social distancing during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, physicians and healthcare systems have made efforts to replace in-person with virtual clinic visits when feasible. While these efforts have been well received and seem compatible with sound clinical practice, they do not perfectly replicate the experience of a face-to-face exchange between doctor and patient. This essay attempts to describe features of the virtual visit that distinguish it from its face-to-face analog and considers the phenomenological work of Emmanuel Levinas in arguing that these differences may limit the force of the ethical summons a provider would otherwise experience before the face of a patient. The diminishment of this signal therapeutic experience may engender vocational as well as clinical consequences, which should be weighed against the practical benefits of the virtual visit as we consider whether our enthusiasm for this mode of practice should continue.

STREETWALKING BEYOND THE STOA: DIOGENES THE CYNIC, MARÍA LUGONES, AND A TENTATIVE COSMOPOLITANISM

In this essay I argue that we should consider Diogenes the Cynic’s claim to be cosmopolitan in light of his homelessness as a spatial and material reality. I do this order to arrive at a concept of cosmopolitanism that is more politically and ethically substantial than its typical rationalist Kantian formulations. I consider passages from Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of the Eminent Philosophers to clarify the relationship of homelessness to cosmopolitanism, and draw upon authors such as Emmanuel Levinas, María Lugones, and José Medina in order to demonstrate the fruitfulness of a reconsidered cosmopolitanism in our contemporary context. I ultimately suggest that Diogenes’ cosmopolitanism offers a rich and politically charged alternative to rationalist cosmopolitanism insofar as he points us towards critically rethinking both the cosmos and polis as expressions of political agency in a world in which homelessness and social exclusion are a common feature. I argue that cosmopolitan political practice would therefore be best understood fundamentally tentative, whether in the form of productive negotiation, or an interruptive displacement of hegemonic understandings of shared spaces.

Is the “Common Home” Metaphor Adequate and Useful for an “Integral Ecology” Theology in Modern Times?

This essay argues that the “common home” metaphor, when applied to planet Earth, falls short in its ability to provide an accurate analogy with the complexity and diversity of the planet itself since it has a limited epistemological, heuristic, and hermeneutical horizon; it is an analogy that proves inadequate in expressing common human representations of home and the two principles that should inspire an Ecotheology: the ontological value of creatures (Gaudium et Spes) and the recognition of the intrinsic relationship between all beings (Laudato Si’). In order to methodologically support this enquiry, a reflexive analysis and a metadisciplinary discourse are used through Emmanuel Levinas, Hannah Arendt, and the concept of integral ecology, proposed in Pope Francis’s encyclical letter Laudato Si’. On care for our common home, 21 May 2015. The performativity of the “common home” metaphor is evaluated to review its use in Ecotheology. The conclusion reached is that the category of “common life” might be more appropriate than “common home” to characterize how humans inhabit the world for an Ecotheology, and to represent planetary and cosmic communion and interdependence.

The Possibility of an Enhanced Filipino Value of Pakikipagkapwa through Emmanuel Levinas’ Idea of ResponsibilityEssel Angelo G. Macalino1, LPT, MA Philos

In the Philippines, Pakikipagkapwa is one of the values that every Filipino is very proud of. It emphasizes their strong bond to other existential being and as part of acknowledging each other’s relevance. This is evidently seen in the ordinariness of their lives; in family, work, and in community in general, commonly represented by the image of a bayanihan where a group of Filipinos are helping each other. This value has formed a lot of Filipinos and somehow been known as part of their identity. However, this research aims to provide a deeper and clearer perspective to this Filipino value which begins through identifying the problems; What is the Filipino concept of Pakikipagkapwa and its gaps? How can Levinas’ idea of Responsibility possibly bridge the gaps of pakikipagkapwa that are brought by ‘hindi palagay ang loob’ and ‘kulo ng dugo’? In order to systematically provide accurate conclusion and recommendations to these problems, this work uses phenomenological hermeneutics as its approach. The researcher explored on indirect or secondary sources like books, peer reviewed journals and articles about Levinas’ Responsibility, and some relatable pieces of literature that are significant in the development of the research. The author also conducted an archival inspection to gather necessary data and information for the research. With the emerging progression of values and in riding- in with the signs of the times, this Filipino value can still be enriched by identifying some gaps and filling it in through the aid of a philosophical concept on intersubjectivity and responsibility. Emmanuel Levinas’ concept can be of great support in enhancing this Filipino value of pakikipagkapwa. The gaps which are identified in this work are hindi palagay ang loob at kulo ng dugo. These will be more elaborated and discussed especially on how they put walls on the essence of pakikipagkapwa. As a result, this work develops a more enriched concept of pakikipagkapwa which can be more applicable to the society today. It affirms of something lacking which needs to be addressed supplemented by Levinas’ philosophy of responsibility. Through the identification of the gaps, the Filipino value of Pakikipagkapwa has now the possibility to be more authentic. Instead of walls of hindi palagay ang loob at kulo ng dugo, bridges are built through Levinas’ philosophy.

Sensing the Future in Contemporary Anglophone Literature: Utopian Practice in Times of Global Emergency

Abstract: Due to contemporary experiences of climate crisis, large-scale migration, and global ruptures such as the spread of COVID-19, futurity has become newly problematized in both public discourse and critical discussions in literary and cultural studies. This article argues that literary texts contribute to the renegotiation of futurity for the cultural needs of the present. The article discusses how two contemporary Anglophone novels, Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West (2017) and Nnedi Okorafor’s Lagoon (2014), redirect both ecocritical and critical posthumanist concerns towards an ethics of open futurity that is, counterintuitively, contiguous with the humanist philosophies of Hannah Arendt and Emmanuel Levinas. The novels express forms of anticipation in which open futurity and the experience of encounter with the other form a basic ethical orientation, thereby pointing to an emergent reshaping of utopian practice in times of global emergency.

"Reduced to Near Nothingness": Don DeLillo's Ethico-Political Project in Cosmopolis

Abstract: A drama of personal failure lies at the heart of Don DeLillo's novel Cosmopolis (2003), as currency trader Eric Packer's misguided strategy of borrowing enormous sums of yen backfires when the currency fails to depreciate. DeLillo treats Packer as a point of contact between the concrete world and abstract value, and Packer desires, accordingly, to become a piece of abstract data. Yet failure undermines Packer's fantasies of abstraction and forces upon him an awareness of his constitutive openness to alterity. It is through Packer's failure that DeLillo weaves into Cosmopolis an ethico-political project that aligns his novelistic art with Emmanuel Levinas's philosophy—a project that plays out on both a narrative and a formal level.

Towards a Dialogic Ethical Criticism:

Since the late 20th century, Literature educators have adopted dialogic pedagogies that connect aesthetic appreciation and other-centred approaches to literary texts. However, classroom research on students’ ethical meaning-making has rarely been connected with theoretical developments of ethical criticism or conducted in non-western contexts and classroom debate settings. To map how Literature classroom interactions open or close possibilities for ethical meaning-making, I propose a dialogic ethical criticism that synthesises an other-centred ethical criticism influenced by Emmanuel Levinas’ ethical philosophy and Hans-Georg Gadamer’s notion of hermeneutic conversation. Using deductive and inductive analysis, I develop and apply a coding framework to examine classroom discourse in a high-ability Singapore Secondary Four (Grade 10) class in an Asian poetry unit. I focus on a series of classroom debates comparing poems with ethical invitations on the representations of asylum seekers, the process of embracing diversity, and reasserting identity amidst discrimination. While some students keenly consider others’ perspectives and develop the strength of their interpretive possibilities with close textual evidence, other students simulate an ethical openness by selectively using textual evidence. Although antagonistic forms of literary debates can inhibit students’ ethical meaning-making, student adjudicators providing constructive feedback with close textual support can facilitate responsible interpretive possibilities.

Prikaz drugih i drukčijih u akadskoj književnoj tradiciji, iz perspektive Emmanuela Levinasa / Portrait of the different and the others in Akkadian literary tradition, from the perspective of Emmanuel Levinas

In the paper Portrait of the different and the others in Akkadian literary tradition, from the perspective of Emmanuel Levinas, the author will, with the help of literary and historical sources from the Akkadian literary tradition, investigate the existence of the different and the others in Akkadian scripture and in their society. The concept of otherness, within Akkadian society, will be linked to the characters of literary works, their sexual orientation, gender, race, disability, ethnic and national affiliation. Furthermore, due to the fact that this topic is socially determined, it is necessary to present the social groups that are identified as the different and the other, not just in the literary, but also in the social and civilizational sense, that is, in the form of their position in Akkadian society. Based on this, with the help of Levinas’s interpretation of the other and otherness, it will be concluded that the ancient Akkadians were a type of society that successfully integrated the different and the others into their society, and in this way those people were enabled to live a normal and dignified life like other members of their community.

The Dilemma of Religious Tolerance: Levinasian Critique and Proposal

Religious tolerance is a critical issue in pluralistic societies such as Indonesia. Without tolerance, the expressions of beliefs can lead to fanaticism, conflict, and hostility that negatively impact social security and stability. This article addresses the dilemma of religious tolerance by exploring and connecting the concept of “the Other” in Emmanuel Levinas’ thought as an ethical subject who requires protection and respect for the individual with the discussion of tolerance indicators in the context of religious moderation. This qualitative study employs a literature review method, with data collected through literature review and analyzed descriptively using Emmanuel Levinas’ philosophical perspective. The results indicate that religious tolerance in the framework of religious moderation, as found in Emmanuel Levinas’ thought, entails the recognition and respect for the identity of the “Other”. The “Other” is an ethical subject with the right to live free from discrimination and oppression. In the framework of tolerance, the “Other” is not merely allowed to exist and differ but necessitates the growth of respect and appreciation through fair and respectful treatment of those who are different. From Levinas’s viewpoint, the practice of religious tolerance must be carried out by considering the concept of ethical relationships between individuals and “The Other.” Religious tolerance manifests ethical responsibility to recognize and respect the existence of others with different religions and beliefs. This article proposes that Levinasian philosophy can provide a useful critique and proposal for the dilemma of religious tolerance in pluralistic societies

A Poet in the Land of the Sciences. Thinking About Human Nature with Wisława Szymborska

Is it necessary to have a notion of transcendence, a traditional metaphysics, to defend the human? This article addresses this question through an interpretation of the texture and rhythm of Szymborska’s language. Her poems are multi-faceted, and often playful, but it is difficult to ignore the poet’s insistence on ethics, despite the utter indifference of the natural world to good and evil. Humans are themselves a part of the natural world, and thus, if, like Szymborska, one does not accept a reality beyond nature, the strangeness of the ethical demand, which appears groundless, becomes shorn of any possible explanation. In the conclusion of the essay, the researcher puts Szymborska’s view of ethics in conversation with Emmanuel Levinas, whose position resembles hers and yet also sheds a new light on what the groundlessness of ethics might mean.

Rome Better Than Christ: Levinas’s (Negative) Political Theology

ABSTRACT This paper delves into Emmanuel Levinas’s political theology, as found in his Jewish writings, positing an analysis of a philosophical historiography, termed “eschatology” by Levinas. Within this framework, the narrative revolves around two pivotal entities: the West and Israel. Levinas contends that Israel embodies the ideal and telos of the West, portraying Judaism as the essence of Western civilization. The focus here centers on the adverse aspects, particularly three figures identified by Levinas’s eschatological political theology as problematic embodiments of Western civilization: Hitlerism, Christianity, and Rome. The paper asserts that, contrary to common assumptions, Levinas places Rome, not Christianity, in the closest and most significant rivalry with Judaism. Levinas posits that Judaism's primary role is political, not religious, and its historical struggle pertains more to the Empire than to matters of faith.

Anarchy, Militancy, Transactional Sex and Homo Sacer in Samar Yazbek’s The Crossing: My Journey to the Shattered Heart of Syria

This paper delves into the complex dynamics of the Syrian Civil War, scrutinizing how totalitarianism catalyzes uprisings that lead to a multitude of consequences, including the displacement of innocent populations, the emergence of bare life conditions, the rise of militancy, and the prevalence of dissensus. The study also explores the ethical responsibility framework proposed by Emmanuel Levinas, particularly focusing on his works “Cities of Refuge” and “Totality and Infinity,” which underscores the importance of responding to the call of the Other. The author offers a multifaceted analysis of Samar Yazbek’s experiences in Syria, where she consistently places herself at great risk to aid fellow citizens, establish educational institutions, and empower widows. This first-hand account illustrates the dire circumstances faced by internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to the oppressive rule of Bashar al-Assad, exposing the stark reality of their struggle for basic human needs, such as food, water, shelter, and healthcare. Finally, the article proposes potential solutions to the ongoing crisis, emphasizing the need for a political solution, international cooperation, and an expansion of the concept of “unconditional hospitality” as advocated by Derrida. The paper highlights the critical importance of acknowledging the rights and dignity of IDPs and refugees and offers a comprehensive analysis of the Syrian conflict through various theoretical lenses, including Hannah Arendt’s concept of “bare life” and the potential for a political resolution. This study ultimately contributes to a deeper understanding of the Syrian Civil War and its impact on the lives of those directly affected by the conflict.

An ethics of responsibility and the origin of morality

This article investigates the nature of an ‘Ethics of Responsibility’ (ER) as well as its significance for the broader research project dealt with, namely ‘Morality in History’. The article starts off with a conceptual analysis of the notions of ‘morality’ and ‘ethics’, followed by an exposition of Alasdair MacIntyre’s formulation of the ‘anomaly’ of current-day moral theory. This leads to a comprehensive analysis of MacIntyre’s argument as to why the Enlightenment project was, according to him, doomed to failure and a return to Aristotle is essentially called for. Consequently, the approach known as the ER is introduced, drawing on the work of Hans Jonas, Emmanuel Levinas, Richard Niehbur, Richard Bernstein, William Schweiker and Aristotle. The following concepts are analysed and integrated into the framework of the ER, namely accountability (Schwecker), reciprocity (Levinas), fallibility (Van Niekerk), futurity (Jonas), the dialectic between normativity and applications (Bernstein) and phronesis (Aristotle).Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article argues that the theoretical model of an ‘ethics of responsibility’ contributes significantly to reflection on the ‘origins of morality’. The ‘anomaly’ of current-day moral theory is analysed This is followed by a comprehensive exposition of the ER. This model of ethical conceptualisation bestows even more clarity on the intra- and interdisciplinary implications of the article, as a model is developed, drawing on the work of Jonas, Levinas, Schweiker and others, that utilises the insights of Aristotle and thereby transcends the approaches to moral reasoning of Modernity.