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Levinas brings together the phenomenology of Husserl, the fundamental ontology of Heidegger, and the Bible. This book highlights his modesty and reserve and, above all, his rigor. It is 'the best introduction' to his work. Chapters Include: Bible and Philosophy; Heidegger; The 'There Is'; The Solitude of Being; Love and Filiation; Secrecy and Freedom; Responsibility for the Other; The Glory of Testimony; The Hardness of Philosophy and the Consolations of Religion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Easy introduction to a difficult thinker
This is as easy to read (and understand) as Levinas can be. It is short and in the form of an interview. If you are just looking for a broad concept of what he is all about - this is a great book. It gives you a nice overview on his major points and from there on you might want to explore some of his more challenging works.

excellent and Sublime!
An exceptionally lucid series of interviews with one of the most central, misunderstood and neglected thinkers of the 20th C. If you are looking to take a quick dip in the work of Levinas (something that may not be possible) I would council you to pick this up, it is the most easily accesible book to attempt a (cursory) look at some of Levinas' key points. The questions are interesting and (more importantly) not trivial... Levinas's responses are succint but also thorough and searching. I found this much more rewarding and illuminating than some of his more weighty tomage.

Good for recovering academics, practicing theorists, intellectual dilletantes and anyone else interested in adopting an ethically based philosophy that can stand up and go toe to toe with all those wily postmodernists with their impenetrable and convoluted jargon of hubris...

The Generousity of a Great Mind
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 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.

Levinas in a Nutshell
The influence of Levinas on Contemporary thought cannot be under-estimated.Many of the subtle and overt nuances in Derrida, Nancy, Deleuze and, on this side of the Atlantic, Lingis and Caputo, derive from Levinasian insights.Indeed, the French reverence for difference and alterity has its origin in the phenomenological findings of Levinas.

With Levinas comes a dramatic shift from the Heideggarian cum Greek privilege of ontology.As levinas suggests, prior to any investigation of Being we first encounter the Other.And it is this encounter with the other that commands me - a command whose first words are 'Thou shalt not kill'. Thus it is ethics that is first philosophy.

This description, its reasons and implications, are many and complex.However, this wonderful little book gives a breadth and clarity that should prove invaluable to the scholar and dilettante alike. Nemo's questions are poignant and Levinas' responses are clear, precise and exhibit a genuine gentility and articulateness that is most apreciated in philosophical writings.

In addition this book is a wonderful accompaniment to Levinas' two main texts: Totality and Infinity and Otherwise than Being.

It is a brilliant introduction to Levinas' other works.
Levinas is one of the finest thinkers to step out of philosophy since Soren Kierkegaard.With this book and his interviews with Nemo, the reader can gain a basic understanding that will urge (h)er further along the tracethat Levinas leaves in the history of thought.Read this book, and bedrawn into thinking of the Other. ... Read more

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Emmanuel Levinas is a major voice in twentieth century European thought. Beginning his intellectual career in the 1920s, he has developed an original and comprehensive post rationalist ethics of social responsibility and obligation. The influence of his work has already been profound and far-reaching, readily acknowledged by such diverse and important figures as Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Derrida, and Enrique Dussel. Time and The Other was first presented as a series of lectures in 1946-47 at the College Philosophique and is probably the clearest statement of Levinas' thought. Along with Existence and Existents (1947), it represents the first formulation of Levinas' own philosophy, later more fully developed in Totality and Infinity (1961) and Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence (1974 ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An early but central exposition of L.'s ethical metaphysics.
TIME AND THE OTHER was first presented as a series of lectures in 1946/47 at the College Philosophique, in the intellectually charged atmosphere of post-war Paris.Along with EXISTENCE AND EXISTENTS it represents the first book length formulation of Levinas's own philosophy of ethical metaphysics.It is not only a clear statement of his thought but is focused on the central issue of modern and contemporary philsopohy: the meaning and role of time.This volume also includes two important articles by Levinas on time, "The Old and the New" (1980) and "Diachrony and Representation" (1983).Reviewed by Richard A. Cohen (translator) ... Read more

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An ardent admirer and student of Emmanuel Levinas during the last decade of the philosopher's life, Michael de Saint Cheron sat down with his mentor for these interviews, conducted between 1992 and 1994. Throughout, their conversations provide further insight into the key concepts of responsibility, transcendence, holiness, and the hostage for understanding Levinas' notion of ethics as first philosophy. As Levinas and Saint Cheron discuss a variety of topics - death and time in the philosophies of Heidegger and Bergson, eros and the feminine, the Judeo-Christian dialogue, Levinas' differences of thought with Paul Ricur, reflections on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the 'end of history' with the fall of Western Communism - we can clearly see Levinas' ceaseless engagement with the justification for living after such horrors as those of Auschwitz, Hiroshima, Stalinism, Cambodia, or Rwanda. Included here as well, following the interviews, are several essays in which Saint Cheron presents his own further considerations of their conversations and Levinas' ideas.He writes of the relation of the epiphany of the face to the idea of holiness; of Sartre and, in particular, that existentialist thinker's 'revision' of Jews and Judaism in his final controversial dialogues with Benny Levy; of the epiphanies of death in Andre Malraux's writings; and, of the radical breach effected in the Western philosophical tradition by Levinas' 'otherwise-than-thinking'. Finally, Saint Cheron pays homage to Levinas' talmudic readings in an analysis of forgiveness and the unforgivable in Jewish tradition and liturgy, culminating in an inevitable confrontation with the Shoah from the perspective of Simon Wiesenthal's harrowing "The Sunflower" and some of the contemporary reactions to it. ... Read more

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Jean Paul Sartre hailed him as the philosopher who introduced France to Husserl and Heidegger. Derrida has paid him homage as "master." An original philosopher who combines the insights of phenomenological analysis with those of Jewish spirituality, Emmanuel Levinas has proven to be of extraordinary importance in the history of modern thought. Collecting Levinas's important writings on religion, Difficult Freedom contributes to a growing debate about the significance of religion -- particularly Judaism and Jewish spiritualism -- in European philosophy. Topics include ethics, aesthetics, politics, messianism, Judaism and women, and Jewish-Christian relations, as well as the work of Spinoza, Hegel, Heidegger, Franz Rosenzweig, Simone Weil, and Jules Issac.

Customer Reviews (3)

Levinas attitude to Judaism
Emmanuel Levinas came from an orthodox Lithuanian background but left for France in the 1930' to study with Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger in Germany. In time he developed his ethical theory of "The Other" for which Levinas is famous today. He remained an observant Jew all his life but seperated strictly his involvement in the Jewish community with his academic life as professor of philosophy at the Sorbonne. He even published his "Jewish" books with a different publisher than his "philosophical" books. "Difficult Freedom" is a collection of his view on a variety of topics concerning Judaism, Zionism, Israel, God and is a fascinating read.

A collection highly memorable and engaging
Emmanuel Levinas takes Jewish thought to new levels, adding very new, yet very ancient ways of thinking into his works.He has several highly recognized works in the philosphy world- "Time and the Other", amd "Existence and Existents", but his works that build directlyoff of Jewish thought (such as this one) are my favorites.He manages tocut through the shell of everything and shed a beautiful yet heavy light onlife.... I think it would be more fitting to put a Levinas quotes fromDifficult Freedom in this review, and let you see for yourself.

"Atthe dawning of the new world, Judaism has the consciousness to possess,through its permanence, a function in the general economy of Being.No onecan replace it.Someone has to exist in the world who isas old as theworld.For Judaism, the great migrations of the people , the migrationsamong the people and the upheavals of history have never presented a deadlythreat.It always found what remained to it.It has a painful experienceof living on; its performance accustomed it to judging history and refusingto accept the verdict of a History that that proclaimed itself judge. Perhaps Jewish thought in general consists today in holding on more firmlythan ever to this permanence and this eternity.Judaism has traversedhistory history without taking up history's causes.It has the power tojudge, alone against all, the victory of visible and organized forces - ifneed be in order to reject them.Its head may be held high or its head maybe down, but it is always stiff-necked.This temerity and this patience,which are as long as eternity itself, will perhaps be more necessary tohumanity tomorrow or the day after tomorrow than they were yesterday or theday before." Difficult Freedom, p.166

difficult to read, perhaps, but will open up new worlds!
Several essays on Jewish issues and a brief and quirky, incompleteautobiography of Levinas, perhaps the finest thinker in post-modern Jewishphilosophy. In this little volume are commentaries on Biblical and talmudicmaterial, thoughts about current philosophical trends, what it means to bea Jew in the modern and post-holocaust world by a thoughtful survivor, andhis unique wordplay. This book will shake your assumptions to theirfoundations. Never a casual read, but amazing to study. ... Read more

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Internationally renowned as one of the great French philosophers of the twentieth century, the late Emmanuel Levinas remains a pivotal figure across the humanistic disciplines for his insistence -against the grain of Western philosophical tradition -on the primacy of ethics in philosophical investigation. This first English translation of a series of twelve essays known as Alterity and Transcendence offers a unique glimpse of Levinas defining his own place in the history of philosophy. Published by a mature thinker between 1967 and 1989, these works exhibit a refreshingly accessible perspective that seasoned admirers and newcomers will appreciate.
In today´s world, where religious conceptions of exalted higher powers are constantly called into question by theoretical investigation and by the powerful influence of science and technology on our understanding of the universe, has the notion of transcendence been stripped of its significance? In Levinas´s incisive model, transcendence is indeed alive -not in any notion of our relationship to a mysterious, sacred realm but in the idea of our worldly, subjective relationships to others.
Without presupposing an intimate knowledge of the history of philosophy, Levinas explores the ways in which Plotinus, Descartes, Husserl, and Heidegger have encountered the question of transcendence. In discourses on the concepts of totality and infinity, he locates his own thinking in the context of pre-Socratic philosophers, Aristotle, Leibniz, Spinoza, Kant, and Descartes. Always centering his discussions on the idea of interpersonal relations as the basis of transcendence, Levinas reflects on the rights of individuals (and how they are inextricably linked to those of others), the concept of peace, and the dialogic nature of philosophy. Finally, in interviews conducted by Christian Chabanis and Angelo Bianchi, Levinas responds to key questions not directly addressed in his writings. Throughout, Alterity and Transcendence reveals a commitment to ethics as first philosophy -obliging modern thinkers to investigate not merely the true but the good. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Systematic Search for Values
When I bought this book, I was attempting to catch the crest of a wave in philosophy, expecting a lot of mental activity in the wake of the death of Levinas (1906-1995) to help put my frame of values within the scope ofcurrent thought.But I'm more of a modern fragmentist~thinking throughexpectations is a realm of impossibilities, and not just for me.I hadpreviously struggled with his TOTALITY AND INFINITY, which pits the urge tocontrol multiplicty by having a system that defines a totality against thelimitless possibilities offered by multiplicity itself.A reader may findthat effort like a good game of chess: being able to visualize a strategyfor winning keeps the sense of involvement high, but any attempt to be moreinvolved than Levinas would obviously be a strain.When ALTERITY &TRANSCENDENCE becomes available in paperback, it might be a better guidefor those who would like to see what values Levinas was pursuing.I couldconfine myself to a single page (177) in an interview published in 1985 formy efforts to comprehend the complexity of his answer to the idea, "Toreligion would belong the task of consolation, not of demonstration." Levinas took the opportunity to demonstrate the existence of an evengreater evil."The seducer knows all the ploys of language and allits ambiguities. . . . The most dangerous of seducers is the one whocarries you away with pious words to violence and contempt for the otherman."Instead of trying to create a clear distinction betweenreligion and philosophy, Levinas showed an awareness of the ways of thisworld, where any dialectic is capable of being a threat to human freedomwhen it declares war on that for which it expresses disapproval.This istheology when it involves "the voice and 'accent' of God in theScriptures themselves."As a modern fragmentist, I have hopelesslyconfused what is actually written there, but that tendency is as strong asthe urge to associate The Beach Boys with songs about surfing. ... Read more

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excellent...
Contrary to an above reviewer of this book, Derrida's project is not "designed to cast great doubt on the classical notions of truth, reality, meaning, and knowledge." Especially not in Derrida's writingsof the last 15 years, following his so-called "ethical" or"religious" turn. This volume includes two essays, "Adieu toEmmanuel Levinas" and "A Word of Welcome." The former is theeulogy Derrida gave at Levinas's burial, and the latter is an excellentanalaysis of Levinas's ethics in the terms of "hospitality."Valuable for anyone interested in Levinas, recent developments in ethics,or Derrida's later philosophy.

A Dismal Effort by Dinosaur-of-a-Philosopher
Derrida, the renowned French postmodernist and author of, among other things, "Writing and Difference", is at it again in his latest effort, "Adieu to Emmanuel Levinas." His work is designed to cast great doubt onthe classical notions of truth, reality, meaning, and knowledge. The goalis reprehensible, but Derrida can usually pull it off. "Adieu to EmmanuelLevinas" is thus a major disappointment to all those fans of outmodeddeconstructionist French philosophers.The book suffers from being far toopersonal, and lacks detail. Anecdotes abound, but they are, in toto, notparticularly interesting or helpful ones, mostly along the lines ofchildhood vacations to the beach and the like. As for the few attemptsDerrida makes to actually deal with PHILOSOPHY, detail is sorely lacking.When a reader comes upon phrases like "the hermeneutics of orangutans,"he/she really deserves to have some idea what the author is talking about.Sometimes you just want to read about eschatalogical polemics orsignifier/signified interrelations, but you won't find that here. Seen inthis, or any other light, "Adieu to Emmanuel Levinas" falls pancake-flat.Spend your money on something that makes sense to somebody other than theauthor. I am sad now and it is Jaques Derrida's fault. ... Read more

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In "Humanism of the Other", Emmanuel Levinas argues that it is not only possible but of the highest exigency to understand one's humanity through the humanity of others. In paperback for the first time, Levinas's work here is based in a new appreciation for ethics and takes new distances from phenomenology, idealism, and skepticism to rehabilitate humanism and restore its promises. Painfully aware of the long history of dehumanization that reached its apotheosis in Hitler and Nazism, Levinas does not underestimate the difficulty of reconciling oneself with another. The humanity of the human, Levinas argues, is not discoverable through mathematics, rational metaphysics, or introspection. Rather, it is found in the recognition that the other person comes first, that the suffering and mortality of others are the obligations and morality of the self. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting, but non-essential Addition to Levinas Literature
A new translation (by Nidra Poller) of Emmanuel Levinas' 1972 collection of essays originally entitled Humanisme de l'autre homme.The three Levinas essays/chapters included are "Signification and Sense" (first published in 1964), "Humanism and An-archy (1968), and "Without Identity (1970).The text also includes a lengthy introduction by Richard Cohen.

The first chapter, one of Levinas' major considerations of language and method, is by far the most important text of the three.It has been previously translated and published (under the title "Meaning and Sense") in two prior collections of Levinas' writings--the Collected Philosophical Papers, and the Basic Philosophical Writings. The essay moves adroitly though a quasi-historical analysis of the signifier, considered first as a linguistic term inadequate to the task of fully expressing the signified, and second, as a saturated signifier, expressing a super-abundance of significations, and finally, as the face of the other person, whose signification belongs to another, primordial order of meaning--and thereby, opens upon another sense of language.The essay is also noteworthy for its parallel development of methodological differences between Levinas and other major phenomenologists, especially Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty.

The last two essays in Humanism of the Other also appeared in the Collected Philosophical Papers (translated by Al Lingis), and are remarkable primarily for articulating Levinas' response to the (largely) French debates over humanism and culture during the 1960s.They are not among his better essays, however.

The new translations by Nidra Poller correct some inaccuracies in the earlier Lingis translations (though the Lingis renderings are still more readable, in many places, than are Poller's), but none of those corrections are as significant as Cohen's "Introduction" to the text would have readers believe.Cohen's introductory essay (some 35 pages in length) is longer, in fact, than any of the Levinas essays it ostensibly introduces.It does provide an interesting account of the 1929 Cassirer/Heidegger encounter in Davos, but it suffers in both tone and content from what are becoming somewhat tiresome and formulaic criticisms of Heidegger.

In short, this volume is a welcome addition to the bookshelves of Levinas scholars and students, insofar as it preserves the structure of the original text and offers new translations of its chapters, but neither the reworked translations nor the edition itself justifies its purchase by readers who can obtain the same essays (and more) by purchasing the Collected Philosophical Papers or who are interested in reading more important and representative Levinas writings than those included in this volume.

A word of warning--you may already own this book
All five of the essays collected and (re)translated in this volume, _Humanism of the Other_, have previously appeared as chapters in Levinas' _Collected Philosophical Papers_, edited and translated by Alphonso Lingis (Duquesne Univ Press, 1998:ISBN#:0820703060). That is not to say that the essays here collected are no good. The new translation is self-avowedly more accurate to Levinas' French than the Lingis translation.

With the above proviso in mind, the five essays collected and published as _Humanism of the Other_ are wonderful representations of the radicality of Levinas' notions of ethics. Of particular is the essay "No Identity." Students and scholars of Levinas in particular and Continental ethics in general are well served by being or becoming familiar with this work.

The introductory essay by Richard Cohen is very clear and worthy of a serious reading in its own right. Cohen is a top-notch Levinas scholar and translator. ... Read more

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Best known for his theories of ethics and responsibility, Emmanuel Levinas was one of the most profound and influential thinkers of the last century.  In this clear, accessible guide, Seán Hand examines why Levinas is increasingly fundamental to the study of literature and culture today.  Exploring the intellectual and social contexts of his work and the events that shaped it, Hand considers:

• the influence of phenomenology and Judaism on Levinas’s thought
• key concepts such as the ‘face’, the ‘other’, ethical consciousness and responsibility
• Levinas’s work on aesthetics
• the relationship of philosophy and religion in his writings
• the interaction of his work with historical discussions
• his often complex relationships with other theorists and theories

Emmanuel Levinas’s unique contribution to theory set an exemplary standard for all subsequent thought.  This outstanding guide to his work will prove invaluable to scholars and students across a wide range of disciplines - from philosophy and literary criticism through to international relations and the creative arts.

Customer Reviews (1)

A Handy Introduction that Serves its Purpose
At first, Sean Hand's book appears to be quite amateurish, complete with textbook-style information boxes that tell the reader some basic information, such as who Plato and Aristotle were, and what words like "ontology" and "ethics" normally mean.It comes across as just another basic introduction to Levinas's philosophy.

Once you get past the amateurish look of the book, what you do find is a clear, clever, concise, and cogent account of Levinas's central ideas. This introduction to Levinas is particularly useful for a number of reasons.First, it considers Levinas's philosophical and Talmudic works and their interconnection.Second, Hand identifies the ethical significance of Levinas's understanding of art. Third, in the last chapter, Hand considers Levinas's place in contemporary philosophy by identifying a few "critical" thinkers who have offered interesting ways of approaching Levinas's philosophy: Jacques Derrida, Jean-Luc Marion, Tina Chanter, Alain Badiou, Judith Butler, and Slavoj Zizek.This book is a positive contribution to Levinas scholarship and serves as a handy guidebook that even Levinas's seasoned readers will enjoy and learn from. ... Read more

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Emmanuel Levinas (1906--1996) has exerted a profound influence on 20th-century continental philosophy. This anthology, including Levinas's key philosophical texts over a period of more than forty years, provides an ideal introduction to his thought and offers insights into his most innovative ideas. Five of the ten essays presented here appear in English for the first time. An introduction by Adriaan Peperzak outlines Levinas's philosophical development and the basic themes of his writings. Each essay is accompanied by a brief introduction and notes. This collection is an ideal text for students of philosophy concerned with understanding and assessing the work of this major philosopher.

Customer Reviews (2)

responsibility and the individual
A work of collected writings by a key late-20th century thinker on the
ethical obligations and inheritances of the individual in society and
culture. Levinas' writings, often complex and seemingly contradictory,
represent a kind of journey or exploration toward a philosophical understanding
of our ethical condition and its roots. He illuminates key puzzles posed for us
in our effort to make "right" choices, and to foresee both their practical and
metaphysical implication for the other. This is a rewarding book for readers
who want to think deeply about ethics and the other, but often difficult for
those not trained in philosophy, or used to extended philosophical argument.

A Good Reader Long-Overdue
*Basic Philosophical Writings* is the first Levinas essay anthology since *Collected Philosophical Papers."Drs. Pepperzak, Crichtly and Bernasconi write wonderful introductions and great notes (even those that Levinas never wrote).An excellent anthology and very textbook-oriented.A must-buy for Levinas scholars! ... Read more

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"... the best introduction available for students of one of the most important philosophers of this century". -- American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly ... Read more

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Important contribution to understanding a difficult thinker
The previous reviewer seems to misunderstand this book and the series to which it belongs.The series provides classic texts with commentaries by scholars who are expert in the field.Adriaan Peperzak is certainly one of the best Levinas scholars around, and this book gives us a good introduction to, and superbcommentary on, Levinas' essay, "Philosophy and the Idea of Infinity".

Having said that, it is certainly true that this book is not the place to start if you are approaching Levinas for the first time.In that case, the best place to start is the collection of Philippe Nemo's interviews with Levinas, gathered under the title "Ethics and Infinity."This is quite accessible to the educated reader.This might then be followed up with Colin Davis' genuinely introductory book on Levinas.

After some such background, then the reader should be ready to take up Peperzak's commentary here.At this stage it is very good to have a guide like Peperzak to lead you through the difficult nuances and reference points of so complex a thinker as Levinas. "Philosophy and the Idea of Infinity" is a kind of summary of Levinas' philosophy, but it is not easy going.Peperzak helps you see what you would have missed on your own.

I highly recommend this book, as well as the series as a whole.Levinas is a difficult, but very rewarding thinker--one of those who has the power to change your whole outlook on life. ... Read more

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An outstanding entry into Levinas' later work
I don't intend a long review here, but I thought it worth commenting, in lack of any other reviews. I have found this text to be the most clear exposition of Levinasian philosophy available.It consists of 2 lecture courses and thus the chapters are very well broken down, short and oriented topically per lecture period.The material is very much in the vein of Levinas' work in Otherwise than Being, and to my mind it provides an exceptional entry way into that work's more obscure corners.The ideas are very clearly laid out here (difficult still, but very clear) and the translation reads exceptionally well.
If you have been looking for a single text that best expresses the heart of Levinasian thought (particularly in the later period, of course, which I take to be his most interesting period), I would suggest this book above all others.I've read a great deal of them, so this is my impression from studying Levinas. ... Read more

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A sequel to Levinas's Totality and Infinity, this work is generally considered Levinas's most important contribution to the contemporary debate surrounding the closure of metaphysical discourse, much commented upon by Jacques Derrida. This work contains a fundamentally original theory of the ethical relationship and describes the face-to-face relationship, sensibility, responsibility and speech. Renowned Levinas scholar Richard A. Cohen has contributed a new foreword to this edition of Otherwise than Being, which is also the first time the work is available in an affordable paperback edition. This foreword, along with Alphonso Lingis's extensive introduction to the work, is a valuable tool for researchers and students of Levinas's philosophy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Fundamental basis for all of Levinas Philosophical work
Otherwise Than Being (along with Existence and Existents), is basic to the understanding of Levinas' philosophical thought.Some of the fundamental problems with the ideas in Otherwise Than Being are resolved more fully in Levina's "mature work" (like Entre Nous), things such as overreliance on subjectivity and rejection of "onto-theology" without the development of an alternative metaphysics (his "trancendence," the essence of otherwise-than-being seems located more in psychology than in ontology in this book), and his contradictory unwillingness to identify or not identify "illeity" as an attribute of God or as the trace of God's "being.""Illeity" is one of those Levinasisms that was never fully defined by him in this work.Nevertheless, this is his foundational--a word Levinas rejected, by the way--work.His reliance on the "provisional" language of modern phenomenology makes it a difficult read, but Levinas clearly saw it as his best starting point.

Levinas' best work, but not easy to understand
Much though I am fascinated with Levinas, I do find it nearly unreadable. His text is so dense, it requires (but definitely merits) slow reading.

Although it might be helpful to have read earlier Levinas, this book takes a bit of a departure from the philosophy he espoused in his younger days. I don't believe it is such a radical departure so much as a reorientation and increased sophistication, but that's a topic for another discussion!

I highly recommend this read if you are familiar with phenomenology, particulary Husserl and Heidegger, and Kant. I believe they are essential to understanding his arguments.

If you are willing to put in the time and mental effort to unpack this, it is a very rewarding book. For some additional explanation, a good companion is Beyond by Peperzak.

otherwise than self
"Otherwise Than Being" is one of the only metaphysical text that seriously revise and rehabilitate the notion of the subject after Heidegger's deconstruction and critique of it. Proposing a "de-nucleated" subject, a subject that is non-indifferent to the other, Emmanuel Levinas continues the intuitions he first draw in "Totality and Infinity". But rather than simply continue directly and without revision the acquisitions of "Totality and Infinity", Levinas integrates Derrida's critique (drawn in his important article on Levinas,"Violence and Metaphysics") of the still to ontological/phenomenological discourse of "Totality and Infinity". Therefore, in "Otherwise than Being", his second Masterpiece, Levinas is developing a completely new style, a radically new way-of-thinking. Being not committed anymore neither to phenomenology nor to ontology, Levinas offers us an exercise of post-heidegerrian metaphysics that doesn't fall under the critique of philosophy as onto-theo-logy. The pre-original dimension of psychism, the an-archic dimension of the Self, or subjectivity as "other-in-the-Self" are themes breaking the classical metaphysical discourse without abandoning the primacy of the subject, or of ethics. Finally, "Otherwise than Being" is the first important challenge to Nietzsche's parricide, the first (and maybe only) text that tries to re-hear the authentic signification of the word (or name?): God.

The Otherwise than Being
This title deals with the otherwise than.A true masterpiece of the pre-ontological and ontological discouse which not only binds self to Other (through an asymetric responsibility--see substition) but also uncovers andbuilds off the earlier work of Heidegaar. ... Read more

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Clear, Accessible, and a Fine Contribution to Levinas Scholarship
Diane Perpich's book is one of the clearest and most accessible books on Levinas's thought available.She maps out nicely the central questions in Levinas scholarship, and is clear about where she stands.The last three chapters of the book are especially important.There Perpich tackles the difficult questions concerning normativity, the possibility of animal and environmental ethics, and the relevance of Levinas's philosophy for contemporary identity theory.This book is highly recommended to anyone with a serious interest in Levinas's philosophy and the current state of Levinas scholarship. ... Read more

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This book brings together an important collection of essays by Emmanuel Levinas, a leading philosopher of the 20th century, dating from between 1969 and 1980. The book considers specific Jewish problems: exegetic methodology, points of Jewish doctrine, Jewish religious philosophy, and contemporary political and cultural issues. It also includes five Talmudic readings. The book will be of interest to readers throughout the wider philosophical and religious communities. ... Read more

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"I know of no work that more readily opens this classic of Judaic learning to the general reader." -- The Key Reporter

"The appearance in English of nine of Levinas's essays on talmudic discourse, collected and beautifully translated by Aronowicz, is an important occasion.... These essays are crucial to the interpretation of Levinas's work more generally, [and] Aronowicz's excellent introduction and occasional notes are very helpful in making this work accessible to those unacquainted with either Talmud or Levinas." -- Religious Studies Review

Nine rich and masterful readings of the Talmud by the French Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas translate Jewish thought into the language of modern times. Between 1963 and 1975, Levinas delivered these commentaries at the annual Talmudic colloquia of a group of French Jewish intellectuals in Paris. Here Levinas applies a hermeneutic that simultaneously allows the classic Jewish texts to shed light on contemporary problems and lets modern problems illuminate the texts. Besides being quintessential illustrations of the art of reading, the essays express the deeply ethical vision of the human condition that makes Levinas one of the most important thinkers of our time.

Customer Reviews (3)

Brings a fresh approach to both Talmud study and Philosophy
This is the book that's noted for the famous quote about how we might be able to forgive some Nazis but never Heidigger. And while that's a great line, it's even more profound in the context of a story about a rabbi that didn't begin teaching again for the last late student - a seemingly inocuous action that had great consequences. While the traditional interpretation (rabbis have greater learning and leadership roles and therefore greater responsibilities) is in line with Levinas' argument, his invocation of Heidigger at once makes the Talmud contemporary and profound.

Every one of his readings of the Talmudic passages (and note that these are aggadic passages. Levinas is humble enough to understand that many better and more learned philosophers have mined the halacha) illuminates the Talmud and the contemporary society, showing how the Talmud is still a revolutionary text despite its long history. Of course, the methodology that he uses and his conclusions are great for those that have no Jewish learning.

I read this book when I was first contemplating a conversion to Judaism and while it spoiled me for some methods of learning, it definitely gave me enough learning to see that I was on the right track. Anyhow, I could gush forever on the importance of this book, but suffice it to say that you should buy it.

When philosophy meets Talmud
Emmanuel Levinas' ethical philosophy is also becoming more known in North America lately - he is very popular in Europe and Israel. He received a "good Jewish education" as a child but was no yeshiva boy. After he moved to France and studied with Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger he developed after WWII his ethical philosophy. At the same time he started to learn Talmud with the mysterious Mr. Chouchani. The combination of his original philosophical thought with his knowledge of Talmud became popular topic of a number of lectures that finally became part of this book. For someone who has never encountered the Talmud it might be difficult to follow his reading and understand some of his original interpretations. It is a very fine example of how to give an ethical reading of an ancient text and make it meaningful for our time.
In the Indian University Press edition of 1994 some of the "page" quotes referring to the Talmudic passages are incorrect which is irritating.

A Philosopher Reads The Talmud
Emmanual Levinas (1906-95) was a contintental philosopher, credited with introducing the thinking of Husserl and Heidegger to France.He was raised in the Lithuanian Jewish community, however, and that heritage became increasingly important to him in the 1930s, culminating in his study of the Talmud following WWII.The nine lectures collected in this volume were originally delivered by Levinas between 1963 and 1975.In the guise of commentaries on specific passages of Talmud, these lectures represent Levinas' attempt to "translate" the values and the concerns of the Talmud into the terms of 20th Century phenomenological discourse.

Levinas' main concern is with the ethical aspect of Judaism, and the universal role it (in its specificity) plays.Each lecture begins with a passage from the Talmud, which Levinas interprets line-by-line.Although the interpretation often strays far afield from the plain meaning (and even, sometimes, beyond the symbolic or didactic meaning) of the passage under consideration, I do not think that the rabbis would disagree with Levinas' conclusions.Most of the lectures ultimately turn to one's radical responsibility to and for the other.It is not enough to be good oneself:"the righteous are responsible for evil before anyone else is.They are responsible because they have not been righteous enough to make their justice spread and abolish injustice."(186)Levinas' interpretation of the story of the Gibeonites is particularly thought-provoking in these times:the Gibeonites demanded talion (a life for a life) for the wrongs done to them by Saul; in doing so, by failing to show mercy toward the other, they excluded themselves from Israel.

Although I found much to think about in these lectures and may reread them, they are *not* easy to follow and are often written in the almost impenatrable prose of 20th Century continental philosophy.The translator, Annette Aronowicz, provides a very useful introduction to Levinas, his thought in general, and what he is attempting to do in these lectures, but even with the introduction, I would not recommend this to someone who has no familiarity with philosophical discussion.Familiarity with the Talmud is not required. ... Read more

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First published in 1947, and written mostly during Levinas's imprisonment during World War II, this work provides the first sketch of his mature thought—later developed in Totality and Infinity and Otherwise Than Being, or Beyond Essence. This is essential reading for understanding both Levinas's own philosophy and the developments in philosophical thought in the twentieth century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Short Form of Making Way
Writing a review of a major work of philosophy is a preposterous act of presumption.So,instead, I will simply offer a thank you.
I have already recommended this book.This friend of mine is a self-taught student of philosophy who is truly exploring through this literature what Nietzsche's proclamation, "God is Dead" means to someone who is deeply committed to a spiritual practice.
"Existence and Existents" is an exploration of life's upsurge, in the language of philosophy, that accepts the "irremissible" (Levinas's word) onslaught of this upsurge, while not surrendering to its being "meaningless."
The book also serves as a concise counterpoint to Heidegger's mythologizing romanticism of "being."Being is a construction of the already knowing, power-seeking, war-making (as Levinas' "Totality and Infinity" makes clear) subject.Existence, in contrast, knows nothing of being, and engenders "existents" as its self-forming instantiation in its on-going surge of potency, venturing ever onward.
This book therefore sets in motion, in my opinion, the terms and the notion that defines the work of philosophy in the decades ahead.We must come to see how coming forth, in instants and as hope, also yields the human endeavor among other existents and within a frame of that humans must surpass;and so it is the work of the human endeavor to take up its stance as existents always already amid the traces of all that comes and the "there is" that has already ventured beyond itself, no less the human.
God is dead means that we are now taking up the conditions, means and comprehensions that shape a human endeavor at all.Being is the mirror, but look up over it and there is the Other, the infinite writings of faces, all of whom write their coming from existence from the "there is" to exist here, in the "I am."What there "is" of this, we humans must give to ourselves, to others and to all that lies in our "proximity."
I recommend this book to all those who seek a new way of making it matter that the human endeavor take up its responsibility.The book requires work, thought, slow reading and reflection.It teaches us, there by, the ethic of becoming the living we are.
... Read more

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As a disciple of Husserl, Emmanuel Lavinas was one of the most independent and original interpreters, testifying to the fruitfulness of Husserl's phenomenology and the many paths of thought it introduced. In collecting nearly all of Levinas's articles on Husserlian phenomenology, this volume gathers together a wealth of exposition and interpretation by one of the more important European philosophers of the 20th century . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An Important Translation, Even If Incomplete
Cohen's translation includes many of Levinas' important essays on Husserl, and holds a special place in Levinas scholarship for this reason.The essays in the book range from the 1930s to the 1980s, so it is useful for tracking the development of Levinas' reading of Husserl over the years.More important, the articles in this book show that for Levinas phenomenology isn't something to "escape" but is to be taken seriously.We can see this much in his two articles from 1959, "Reflections on Phenomenological Technique" and "The Ruin of Representation".As a book on Levinas' relation to Husserl, this work is indispensable.

However, this English translation is not without its problems.The full title of the French publication translates as _Discovering Existence with Husserl and Heidegger_ and the book itself contains articles on both Husserl and Heidegger.The translator Richard A. Cohen modifies the book's title and most of the articles on Heidegger are not included in the translation.Why would a translator modify the title of such an important book in Levinas' oeuvre and then omit many of its articles? In his foreword Cohen does not give an answer.It turns out, then, that this translation does not give a full picture of Levinas' relation to phenomenology, for Levinas' reading of Husserl is in many ways influenced by Heidegger.

Although the translation is incomplete, it is still important because it contains articles by Levinas that have not been published elsewhere in English. ... Read more

Product Description

In his philosophy of ethics and time, Emmanuel Levinas highlighted the tension that exists between the "ontological adventure" of immediate experience and the "ethical adventure" of redemptive relationships-associations in which absolute responsibility engenders a transcendence of being and self.

In an original commingling of philosophy and cinema study, Sam B. Girgus applies Levinas's ethics to a variety of international films. His efforts point to a transnational pattern he terms the "cinema of redemption" that portrays the struggle to connect to others in redeeming ways. Girgus not only reveals the power of these films to articulate the crisis between ontological identity and ethical subjectivity. He also locates time and ethics within the structure and content of film itself. Drawing on the work of Luce Irigaray, Tina Chanter, Kelly Oliver, and Ewa Ziarek, Girgus reconsiders Levinas and his relationship to film, engaging with a feminist focus on the sexualized female body. Girgus offers fresh readings of films from several decades and cultures, including Frank Capra'sMr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Federico Fellini'sLa dolce vita (1959), Michelangelo Antonioni'sL'avventura (1960), John Huston'sThe Misfits (1961), and Philip Kaufman'sThe Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988).

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Originally published in French, this book provides the only in-depth biography to appear in English of this interesting thinker, whose influence has continued to grow since his death in 1995. This informative biography follows the ascent of Emmanuel Levinas from solitary thinker to one who is universally influential, and includes personal accounts of his family, friends, colleagues and students. It is essential reading for all those interested in Levinas and his thought, but also for anyone who wishes to better understand contemporary continental thought and its foundations and implications. ... Read more