Emmanuel Levinas (1906–1995)

Emmanuel Levinas' books and articles are famously difficult reading, both because of their depth and because their themes, proposals and obessions manage to be breathtakingly against the grain of modernity and, simultaneously, postmodernity. This little book shows Levinas to be not only a great philosopher but also a good one--that is, an author genuinely concerned for his audience. In these transcribed interviews first broadcast on Radio-France, we meet Levinas the generous conversation show more partner who engages each question in a way that makes fresh understanding possible. Overhearing this conversation is the shortest route to a basic orientation to this wonderfully disorienting thinker. show less

I like Levinas's incantatory style, and I like the way he covers whole swathes of Schopenhauer in a fraction of the space--"we extend to animals the right not to suffer (or try to, perhaps convulsively) because we as human beings know what it is to suffer." If animal suffering can be invalidated, it is the same process as human suffering. If the dog Bobby, the "last Kantian in Nazi Germany", gets a name, it's a phenomenological event: we feel our own hurt, and we extend the categorical show more imperative. If we do not, it's--not to mince words--the Holocaust. Because, you know? Bobby recognized them,Levinas and his fellow prisoners, and comforted them.


He said, belly full, glutted with meat. It's time to put the brakes on that again.

(In Difficult Freedom: Essays on Judaism.) show less

Esta obra de Lévinas constituye una proclamación insólita, por atrevida, de lo que constituye el núcleo de ‘ lo humano’ no es el sostenido esfuerzo de identificarse o ser uno mismo, sino más bien el descubrimiento de que un sujeto es y se dice por algo que lees anterior, qué le precede —por los otros— Ante los que no puede presentarse más que siendo ya responsable de Y ante ellos. únicamente así puede tener ‘ explicación’ El ocaso del humanismo en tanto que movimiento show more que tiene que estar identificándose como tal otorgándose un sentido, y se invierte la dinámica cultural en la que el “ todo vale” había puesto a la filosofía contra la pared del relativismo o del escepticismo.
En esta línea, la recuperación ética de un sentido para la obra humana pone en entredicho el viejo tópico filosófico de qué, puesto que “ todo está permitido…, todo es igual”, al confrontarlo con la experiencia ética de significación que supone el encuentro con el otro.
que esto es difícil de articular nadie lo duda, en un contexto en el que predomina el ser, el poder, la violencia o la razón de estado. y, sin embargo, estamos convencidos de que esta es la tarea paciente —hecha a través de la razón— que la filosofía de comenzar a rehacer si de humanizar o devolver habitable el mundo se trata. show less

A quick and dirty intro to various Levinasian concepts extolled by the man himself. I very much enjoy Levinas' penchant for non-thematizable sections of our existence. I'm still not sure how to feel about him as a literary figure. When libraries open again, I'll make sure to check out one of his more substantial works. Existence and Existants seems the most interesting to me right now. If I ever end up reading more of the Bible, I'll definitely try and get my hands on one of his show more commentaries. He's definitely someone I'd trust with a task like that. show less