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In the twenty interviews collected in this volume,seventeen of which appear in English for the first time, Levinas setsforth the central features of his ethical philosophy and discussesbiographical matters not available elsewhere. ... Read more

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Entry Into Levinas
This collection of interviews is one of the best ways to enter into the world of Levinas. It is a world from which one exits transformed. Levinas may be the most important thinker of the past century; he is certainly the one thinker who has been willing to gaze into the suffering of the 20th century and to emerge with a vision and a challenge for those of us who are seeking for a way of thinking that does not ignore the bloody past. These interviews introduce one to Levinas through his own descriptions of his childhood. They, moreover, usher the reader into the difficult, yet profound, thoughts of levinas: the face, the other, God, and justice. If you are tempted to jump into the world of Levinas, do so first through these interviews. Then, when you have acclimated yourself to his world, you might consider some of his more challenging works. ... Read more

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Best for those already familiar with Levinas' work.
Proper Names is a fascinating collection of essays previously available only in French. The pieces range from discussions of ethical, philosophical and theological questions in the work of Buber, Max Picard, Proust, Derrida and, especially, Maurice Blanchot. These works will be of interest to anyone who is already familiar with the extraordinary work of Emmanuel Levinas, who is, in my mind, one of the most important and original thinkers of the 20th century. The texts allow one to watch Levinas engaged in acts of response/responsibility to and for the Other within the framework of his own ethical system. It is my experience that, if one is concerned with the possibility of ethics after Hegel or, more precisely, Heidegger, everything that Levinas wrote is worth reading. However, if one is not already acquainted with this writer, one should start elsewhere. Infinity and Totality is the best starting point, but The Levinas Reader and Otherwise than Being (the more difficult of these three works) are better starting points. ... Read more

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This book provides a clear and helpful overview of the thought of Emmanuel Levinas, one of the most significant and interesting philosophers of the late twentieth century. Michael L. Morgan presents an overall interpretation of Levinas's central principle that human existence is fundamentally ethical and that its ethical character is grounded in our face-to-face relationships with other people. He explores the religious, cultural, and political implications of this insight for modern Western culture and how it relates to our conception of selfhood and what it is to be a person, our understanding of the ground of moral values, our experience of time and the meaning of history, and our experience of religious concepts and discourse. The book includes an annotated list of recommended readings and a selected bibliography of books by and about Levinas. It will be an excellent introduction to Levinas for readers unfamiliar with his work, and even for those without a background in philosophy. ... Read more

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Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995), French phenomenological philosopher and Talmudic commentator, is regarded as perhaps the greatest ethical philosopher of our time. While Levinas enjoys prominence in the philosophical and scholarly community, especially in Europe, there are few if any books or articles written that take Levinas's extremely difficult to understand, if not obtuse, philosophy and apply it to the everyday lives of real people struggling to give greater meaning and purpose, especially ethical meaning, to their personal lives. This book attempts to fill in the large gap in the Levinas literature, mainly through using a Levinasian-inspired, ethically-infused psychoanalytic approach.

All of the essays included in this book are animated by the Levinasian assumption that it is the ethical relation to the other person (and, in one case, dog!) that is primary. That is, there is a human tendency in us, an often inhibited, muted or repressed tendency, as psychoanalysts have taught us, to see the needs of others as more important (or at least as important) than our own and therefore be willing to sacrifice for others. Moreover, once this human tendency to be for the Other is consciously embraced and made part of one's way of being in the world the possibility for a greater degree of personal fulfillment and happiness is often enhanced. Thus, the art of living the "good life" involves embracing "goodness" as one's guiding metaphor, an existential orientation in which, says Levinas, "the Other counts more than myself."

As social psychologists have repeatedly shown, in social life, paradoxically, it is often the case that "the more you give, the more you get." Being for the Other, in other words, is often self-affirming! ... Read more

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In this major collection of essays, Emmanuel Levinas, a leading philosopher of the 20th century, considers Judaism's uncertain relationship to European culture since the Enlightenment, problems of distance and integration. The book includes five Talmudic readings from between 1981 and 1986, essays on Franz Rosenzweig and Moses Mendelssohn, and a discussion with Francoise Armengaud which raises questions of central importance to Jewish philosophy in the context of general philosophy. This work brings to the fore the vital encounter between philosophy and Judaism, a hallmark of Levinas's thought. ... Read more

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An important early work by Levinas
Originally published in 1935, this English translation and publication of _On Escape_ brings the reader closer to the early thoughts and writings of Emmanuel Levinas than previous publications. His first major original manuscript after his dissertation on Husserl's theory of intuition, _Existence and Existents_, would not appear until 1947, and the lectures collected and published as _Time and the Other_ not until 1948, so the publication of this text should prove to be indispensable to English-reading audiences who have interests in Levinas' (early) work, as well as that of twentieth century Continental European philosophy. Here traditionally accepted phenomenological and existential concepts are introduced, studied, and discussed, such as the following: ontological Being, existents (beings), the identity of the self, the lived-body, radical finitude, etc.

The human subject, which modern philosophy has argued is dual in nature, no longer wishes to escape its existence, its Being; rather it seeks to be "delivered" or "deneutralized" from the world (47). As he concludes _Existence and Existents_, Levinas will later seek a way out of the there is (il y a), and discovers it in the concept of the hypostasis. One must go beyond Being to actualize this point. Philosophy, traditionally accepted, has not thought through the implications of such a task. Throughout history, philosophers have been too concerned with beings. Heidegger introduced the ontological distinction, and began teaching us to (re)think Being. Levinas now wishes to help us think through and beyond Being to get to the ethical relation to, and the infinite responsibility for, the absolute Other -- the other human being.

[for a longer review, go to: http://www.othervoices.org/2.3/mmichau/index.html] ... Read more

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Emmanuel Levinas has been Professor of Philosophy at the Sorbonne and the director of the Ecole Normale Israelite Orientale. Through such works as "Totality and Infinity" and "Otherwise than Being", he has exerted a profound influence on twentieth-century continental philosophy, providing inspiration for Derrida, Lyotard, Blanchot and Irigaray. "The Levinas Reader" collects, often for the first time in English, essays by Levinas encompassing every aspect of his thought: the early phenomenological studies written under the guidance and inspiration of Husserl and Heidegger; the fully developed ethical critique of such totalizing philosophies; the pioneering texts on the moral dimension to aesthetics; the rich and subtle readings of the Talmud which are an exemplary model of an ethical, transcendental philosophy at work; the admirable meditations on current political issues. Sean Hand's introduction gives a complete overview of Levinas's work and situates each chapter within his general contribution to phenomenology, aesthetics, religion, politics and, above all, ethics. Each essay has been prefaced with a brief introduction presenting the basic issues and the necessary background, and suggesting ways to study the text further. ... Read more

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Not For the Daily Commute
"The Infinite concerns me and encircles me, speaking to me through my own mouth.And there is no pure witnessing except of the Infinite.This is not a psychological wonder, but the modality according to which the Infinite comes to pass, signifying through him to whom it signifies, understood insofar as, before any engagement, I respond for the other (p.75)" Thus spoke Emmanuel Levinas.Provocative, illuminating, largely inaccessible as only Levinas can be, this text considers the relationship of the self to the other through the epistemological lens of the a priori existence of a God to whom we respond before understanding the nature of the order.Levinas asserts that, in responding for the other - in taking our neighbor as our brother - we become, in fact, his hostage.For Levinas, this is the necessary trauma of awakening.Some portions of the text are totally incomprehensible, but this is to be expected, and is part of the labor of understanding his philosophy.If you want an easy read, this is not it - hence, don't take it on the train to work! ... Read more

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First published in English by Duquesne in 1969, this has become one of the classics of modern philosophy. ... Read more

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A timeless work
I loved this book in my twenties and still love it.Its insights are timeless and can appeal to people of all ages and, in my view, different religions. Pope John Paul II often referred to Levinas's Philosophy of the Face. Levinas was able to elucidate quite clearly how a person's face can mirror the divine and immortality.His idea of the impossibility of death is equally poignant, that whereas one dies physically certainly, his or herspirit can never die, as simply put, people touch others' lives as they progress through this allegory we call life.Yes, Levinas is at times obscure, but taking time to read it and to meditate upon it, can give one a refreshing outlook when tackling some of life's demands anew.I also only recently learned that he was a Holocaust survivor.His work seems to illustrate the notion that wisdom can, indeed, come from suffering, if one by human choice refuses to cave in to evil circumstance.

For Levinas-lovers
Totality and Infinity is Levinas's first magnum opus, one of two. It is truly an amazing and magnificient piece of work. I had read later Levinas first and began reading this one initially as a sort of self-imposed mandatory prerequisite to read his second magnum opus Otherwise Than Being. Being used to later Levinas, it was an adjustment to read this earlier text. The language of both eras is highly dense and complex (and original), but the earlier language is more pedagogic and the structure more methodic.
At times, I didn't think I would finish the book. I knew I loved Levinas, but in this book the phenomological analyses are so thorough and extensive, that I wondered if it was the same author at times or when I'd find the definitive Levinasian mark of ethics, of the face. However, I am very happy that I did finish this book. Virtually the first half of the book is about Separation - an ambivalence in which a being masters and enjoys but is also dependent on the resources of the world. Interiority does not commence as a cogito or reason, but as enjoyment (of the world). Every being, in their enjoyment of this life, is separated from a totality that would fully account for all of them. The vertigo of existence, of the "il y a" ("there is"), is subsided in the prolongation of labor and in the dwelling. However, the interior economy is still not in a "face to face."
Only separated beings can enter into a face to face and share their resources with an Other.
Finally, the last sections (beginning from section 3) of the book begin to look a lot like later Levinas, and he goes into extensive and radical analyses of the ultimate, irreducible relation of the face to face and its highly ethical situation. He ruminates on goodness, justice, language, plurality, and peace. He speaks of the end of philosophy, of its inadequacy to do justice to the uniqueness of a face. He deliberately and deservingly after many rigorous pages of working out an original and unforeseen thought invokes how this is a departure from and in opposition to most of Western philosophy.
No one who reads and truly understands this book will remain unchanged. To read the first magnum opus of such an original mind, to join Levinas in his thought process by way of the apex of the first part of his career, is truly an unparalleled and beautiful experience, and one you will never forget nor cease to take with you.

Deeply rewarding
There's no doubt that this is a difficult read (though much easier than Deleuze's Difference and Repetition). I would urge anyone tackling this great book that they skip Levinas' Introduction, saving it until the very end. As is often the case with philosophy books, the Introduction was probably written last, and is more of a summary than an intro.

I have read others state that this is a book about morality. In fact, it is much more; it is a phenomenological description of the inner life in all its aspects. Morality is a consequence or an outcome of the inner life as it is portrayed here.

God is occasionally mentioned but only as a distant and remote observer. For example, Levinas' concept of Justice implies some kind of inscrutable Synoptic Insight (similar to what you find in Royce) which observes all the inward thoughts of men from an insurmountable distance and renders a final verdict so that the outward historicism of mankind never has the final word.

The shadow of Martin Heidegger is present throughout, but Levinas attempts to critique him for the most part; or it might be more accurate to say that Levinas argues is that Heidegger is only partially correct in his observations, and that Levinas supplies the corrective revision.

The most difficult part of the book and the part which has generated the most controversy is a section toward the end where Levinas writes aboutfecundity and the father-son relation. If you take his words literally it is patently sexist language, which many critics have put down to the patriarchal tendencies of Levinas' Jewish faith. But Levinas states quite clearly that the biological father-son relation is only to be understood as the token of a more general prototypical relation. The primary and fundamental token of the fecundity relation is the time-relation of the individual with himself or herself. This is often missed even on a close reading.

Fecundity is primarily "the relation with my future which is mine and not mine; a possibility of myself." Fecundity denotes "a duality of the Identical, my future, my adventure." The relation is one between parent and child. But here the child is "the other that I will be." The child is a stranger, "but he is also me." "He is me, a stranger to myself." The child is an "infinite being, an ever-recommencing being, produced in the guise of fecundity." In other words, I am the child of the younger man I once was. I am Other than that younger man, and yet, I am the Same. The old man I will become is the child I will bear, the Stranger, the Other, that I will become. He is my child because my thoughts, words, and actions in the present will bring him forth out of the womb of time. He is the Me that I shall become, yet he is also Other than me; the Stranger that I shall become. "Being is produced as a multiple and as split into Same and Other; this is its ultimate structure." The fecundity relation thus describes the fundamental and ultimate structure of Being. Of course, it may also denote other types of relations as well: as in the literal relationship between the father and son, and master and student. But the primary relationship denoted by fecundity is that time-relation between myself as Same and myself as Other.

In summary, this is a richly rewarding book that is not impossible to read or understand. Skip the Introduction, and go straight to Chapter One. The book is beautifully written and carefully translated. I loved the time I spent with this book. It was spiritually rewarding, and an unforgettable experience.

Totality and Infinity--extremely hard, but also fulfilling
I only read parts of Totality and Infinity, but I found Levinas extremely hard and rewarding.His insights in the book are helpful to everyday life, and they've changed my world view altogether.read it, but preferably with someone else who is reading it, too, or have someone else who has read it help you.

One of the Great Books
To previous reviewers:

~ Levinas is trying to uncover the source of the idea of infinity ~

No, infinity by definition is boundless and cannot be encompassed or reduced. Levinas is not asking the Cartesian question nor concerned with securing the `existence' of the external world. The concept of infinity is unique in that its content always exceeds or overflows its concept. Ethical relation operates in just this manner: the relation to the other is not negative (ala Idealism) but rather a relation to an excess. This excess is no Hinterwelt, but rather goodness.

~ Then he proceeds to "show" that the face to face relation with the Other is the source for our capacity to have theoretical and practical knowledge. ~

Indeed. Though the term `source' is very problematic. Levinas shows theoretical and practical `knowledge' - science and law/politics - are fundamentally social. In this way, the ethical relation opens and conditions this `knowledge,' while always exceeding it. What if science claimed to discover that women were `inferior' to men? We would no doubt question the `truth' of this discovery. Why? Because such a claim seems to exceed the bounds of what scientific activity can produce. This example shows how ethics exceeds theoretical knowledge. The same goes for the `practical.' Why do we think that segregation is wrong or unjust? Why is excluding the `other' from basic political participation, and the responsibility and rights it entails, a problem? Political theory and practice, which in its way is a kind of `scientific ethics,' can also lead to problematic situations. How are we able to judge or discern or resist claims that seek to justify unethical attitudes and practices? The face-to-face is Levinas's attempt to grapple with this perennial problem.

~ Oh yeah, the Other is a man, because the feminine other is not Other enough for Levinas, and romantic love is bad. ~

The problem of the feminine in Levinas is a real issue. Yet only a reductive and amateurish reading would pose the problem in these blunt terms. "The Other is man" and not women, is false according to any close reading of Levinas's texts. It is true that Levinas implicitly treats gender with a patriarchal slant, yet it is also true that he complicates and problematizes the way gendered is valued. There is a running debate on this within feminist camps. The more thoughtful and rigorous feminists realize the complexity and nuanced structural problems within Levinas's thinking of the feminine. Even if we admit that there is an undeniable patriarchal aspect in Levinas's work, we must also admit that he subverts that same patriarchy from within his own work. Here we may possibly oppose Levinas to Levinas. (Check out Tine Chanter's essay in `Addressing Levinas'). Oh ya, `romantic love is bad'?? Go read `Phenomenology of Eros' more carefully.

~Essentially, what he does is fuse Husserl and Heidegger's theories, to an extent, and replaces the transcendental ego of Husserl with the face to face relation with the Other.~

This sounds like a bad regurgitation of certain of Levinas's critics. The more precise way to put it is this: Levinas plays Heidegger's anti-scientism against Husserl, and Husserl's anti-historicism and relativism against Heidegger. There is a certain sense where the other displaces Husserl's T-Ego, in terms of its structural function. Yet Levinas is not after absolute knowledge, and `replacing' the ego with alterity precisely disturbs and relativizes - in fact renders impossible - constitution.

~ Levinas is just intentionally writing obscurely, perhaps because he realizes how silly his whole enterprise is and how much modernism is contained within it (still trying to find the condition for experience itself, did someone say German Idealism?).~

This comment shows the extent of our reviewer's ignorance. 1st: Levinas's entire project is one the most rigorous and non-reductive challenges to the Idealist tradition from Fichte to Husserl. Levinas's project is precisely a critique of the modernist project to secure absolute foundations. He ever retained an allergy to G-Idealism and saw within its totalizing logic the seeds of Auschwitz. 2nd: The claim that Levinas intentionally wrote obscurely betrays intellectual laziness and a certain chauvinism. A simple survey of Levinas's contemporaries, French philosophy of the mid-20th century, shows that Levinas is writing within a specific intellectual culture and style. Continental philosophy in general tends to be more difficult for us Anglophones in that we are socialized into an instrumental and minimalist stylistic culture. One need only read Hegel, Kierkegaard, Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, or Derrida to the see the extent in which Levinas is operating within a certain tradition and style of philosophy.

Finally, the following suggestion by the above reviewer can help us understand Levinas's basic point:

~ you would be better served by spending 3 hours contemplating and reasoning to your own working definition of the following words: --- "totality" --- "infinity" --- "other"
Then spend 3 hours contemplating and reasoning to your own understanding of how the three are interrelated.~

As you sit `contemplating' your definitions, imagine you are right on the cusp of a new idea that will refute Levinas and bring you philosophic immortality. All of a sudden, a frantic bang on your door jars you. You open the door and there stands your neighbor with blood running down his face. He explains that while he was sitting watching water flow over rocks (while contemplating Aristotle); a tree branch fell on his head. You immediately begin to help your neighbor: bandages, ice, call the ambulance, and so forth. By the time the ordeal is over, you have forgotten the specifics of you idea and must start all over.

The supplicating demand of the other interrupts all self activity, rendering our clarity and certainty and sedentary contemplation secondary and relative. No matter how grand and all encompassing our ideas become, there always remains an exterior: an other who bangs on the door needing help; whom we feel obliged to help even if the don't agree with our ideas, even if they are stupid, confused, and so forth. This knock on the door is not another `meaning,' idea, world, or theory, not another term to be defined or explained. The knock on the door is the face of the other that needs and demands whether or not our theory or definition justifies it.

Totality and Infinity is, no doubt, one of the Great Books.
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Emmanuel Levinas is well known to students of twentieth-century continental philosophy, especially French philosophy. But he is largely unknown within the circles of Anglo- American philosophy. In Discovering Levinas, Michael L. Morgan shows how this thinker faces in novel and provocative ways central philosophical problems of twentieth-century philosophy and religious thought. He tackles this task by placing Levinas in conversation with philosophers such as Donald Davidson, Stanley Cavell, John McDowell, Onora O'Neill, Charles Taylor, and Cora Diamond. He also seeks to understand Levinas within philosophical, religious, and political developments in the history of twentieth-century intellectual culture. Morgan demystifies Levinas by examining his unfamiliar and surprising vocabulary, interpreting texts with an eye to clarity, and arguing that Levinas can be understood as a philosopher of the everyday. Morgan also shows that Levinas's ethics is not morally and politically irrelevant nor is it excessively narrow and demanding in unacceptable ways. Neither glib dismissal nor fawning acceptance, this book provides a sympathetic reading that can form a foundation for a responsible critique. ... Read more

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peerless
To come right out with it: this book is a work of love.In the Preface, Morgan frankly admits that this work is a response to the `crisis of values' inaugurated by the genocidal events of the 20th century, a crisis that shows no signs of subsiding. Indeed, `Facing up to this problem and to these events is a challenge that none of us, philosophers included, can escape.' (xii). Morgan's book is no mere exercise in intellectual curiosity, but rather an exercise in understanding with an eye toward judgment and action. In `discovering' Levinas, Morgan discovers a pertinent and passionate response to the crisis.

Morgan's very appropriate motives are met by an equally compelling relevance: this book addresses a severe lacuna in contemporary Levinas scholarship. To my knowledge, there has been no serious research published treating Levinas alongside Anglo-American moral theory. Morgan writes: *If I have written [this book] to become clear myself about what Levinas wrote and thought, I also have written it to introduce others to the Levinas I have come to understand. And this is a Levinas who talks to Cavell, Putnam, Taylor, and McDowell, as well as Heidegger and Derrida. (xiii)*

One should not draw any premature conclusions in reading Morgan's honest and unassuming intent. This book is no mere introduction to Levinas, though it certainly performs this function. This book is no mere dialogue between Morgan's Levinas and contemporary analytic moral theory, though it eminently enacts such interactions. This book amounts to an intervention in the contemporary debate over the `objectivity' of values. Whether one finds one's stylistic home on the Continent or Commonwealth (with its North American progeny), one will not walk away from this book without being provoked. Morgan's provocation is all the more acute in that his tone and analyses are as humble as they are sophisticated, readable as they are rigorous, nuanced as they are distinct. Morgan exhibits a deep understanding of Levinas's corpus, of both its complex technical architecture and the general significance of its élan. His personal quest to understand Levinas has been eminently successful, and his nuanced interaction with analytic moral theory is a prime indicator of this success. At no time does he simply reduce Levinas to another theoretical topos, or for that matter, reduce his Anglophone interlocutor to the Levinasian élan. Morgan is elegantly just in his impeccable interpretations of the figures and themes that he treats.

The pertinence and passion I noted above is even exhibited in Morgan's graceful style. His writing is as disarmingly personal as it is analytically rigorous, no small feet in these turgid times. His humility, sincerity, and exactitude had an almost hypnotic effect on me, drawing me into the world of Morgan's Levinas, almost as if I were encountering Levinas for the first time. Whether interacting with Derrida or Davidson, Morgan is a joy to read. His prose paint with both the broad strokes of a storyteller and the discrete minutia of the analyst, gliding back and forth with honesty and ease. He is not merely effective in helping us `discover' Levinas; he has produced what effectively amounts to the most comprehensive and substantive `introduction' to Levinas in the English language. One must, however, place `introduction' in quotations here, insofar as the scope of this book is attended by a depth of engagement that rivals most other treatments of Levinas this reviewer has read (and that, needless to say, is many).

In the first chapter, Morgan opens his search for Levinas through a reading of Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate, a favorite literary reference for Levinas toward the end of his life. Grossman's apocalyptic vignettes "offer a complete spectacle of desolation and dehumanization" (8). Narrating the horrific landscape during and after the battle of Stalingrad, Grossman discloses the true nature of 20th century totalitarianisms. Yet even in a situation of total devastation, Grossman bears witness to discrete acts of "senseless, irrational kindness" (3). Morgan quotes Levinas: *[T]oward the book's end, when Stalingrad has already been rescued, the German prisoners, including an officer, are cleaning out a basement and removing the decomposing bodies. The officer suffers particularly from this misery. In the crowd, a woman who hates Germans is delighted to see this man more miserable than the others. Then she gives him the last piece of bread she has. This is extraordinary. Even in hatred there exists a mercy stronger than hatred (6).*

No reviewer's gloss can do justice to Morgan here. His introduction to Levinas through Grossman is the most clear, effective, and compelling pictures of the overall significance of Levinas's ethics yet written: he gives us Levinas in a nutshell. In the next three chapters Morgan builds on this initial portrait, solidly elaborating the basic structure of Levinas's thought. The final seven chapters and appendix is a virtual cornucopia of Levinasian engagement. Morgan substantially interacts with the large body of secondary literature, touching on virtually every craggy nook in the Levinasian landscape; everything from Derrida to diachrony, Judaism to jouissance, Heidegger to holiness, and Korsgaard to Kabala.

In chapter nine and the appendix, Morgan enacts a tightly syncopated conversation between his Levinas and contemporary analytic moral theory. One will noticecurious ambiguities as Morgan explicates Levinas's position next to his Anglophone interlocutor. These ambiguities are not a consequence of an eccentricity on Morgan's part - his interpretations of Levinas are impeccable -but rather necessary ambiguities that emerge in attempting the type of translation Morgan undertakes. Given analytic philosophy's basic tenor qua propositional, linguistic, and tightly woven formal coherence, any translation one might venture is bound to be uneven; uneven by virtue of a basic discontinuity between the two sides in both methodology and content. For example, Morgan finds the closest analytic analogue to Levinas in Korsgaard and Darwell, who argue that `agent-neutral' - a neutrality that is equivalent to Levinasian disinterestedness - moral values are grounded intersubjectively. The proximity Morgan demonstrates here is rather compelling: all `neutral' or disinterested reasons arise from the category of the interpersonal, of interpersonal relations rather than the free agent of desire and interest (439).Yet Morgan also notes the gap that separates them: Korsgaard's `primal scene' suggeststhat at the "deepest level, ethics is grounded in the rational and free humanity of the individual. Ethical norms...arise...in a situation where persons deliberate together about what norms and reasons to share" (444-445). This gap and the uneven slippage it effects also manifests when Morgan suggests answers to Anglophone questions, in specifying the function of the face-to-face in an analytic idiom. In contrasting Korsgaard's `primal scene' with the face-to-face, Morgan writes: "The sheer presence of the other makes a claim on me, calls me into question, puts me on the spot" (445). Such a statement is not an interpretive slip on Morgan's part. His explication of Levinasian diachrony and trace in chapter eight is impeccable. Morgan is responding here to the analytic imperative of formal coherence, an imperative that informs Korsgaard's construction of the `primal scene.' In the above statement, Morgan is emphasizing that it is not the other's rationality or humanity - or any other property or capacity we putatively share - that lends force to the ethical, but rather the other herself, in her very immediacy, demands, supplicates, and obliges. To allay the fears of vigilant Kantians, these demands are not even a species of force, to which one might oppose some other kind of force. The other herself, in her sheer alterity, "is" demand, "is" inscribed in my very flesh, and constitutes me as responsible. Yet this immediacy is not a positivity, and thus the other is not even present. The trace of the other irrupting in the face is immediate but absent, the ambiguous non-presence that appears as withdrawal, as enigma, as a past that has never been present. Morgan is sensitive to this paradoxical situation in his many just qualifications when relating Levinas to other moral theorists. Elsewhere he refers to the face as a kind of `quasi-ground' and `quasi-reason.' This `quasi-' is necessary because as I hinted above, and as Morgan reminds us through out this book, the other is not a presence, the anarchic trace is groundless, an opaque glimmer trembling through the constitutive crack in the Said.

Whether or not the analytic moral theorist buys Levinas's testimony to the anarchic quality of pre-theoretical ethical sensibility, he or she will not walk away from Morgan's book uneducated or unedified.Whether or not the continental ethicist buys analytic moral theory'spriority of logical imperatives, he or she will not walk away from Morgan's book uneducated or unedified. Morgan's urgent motives and irenic manner make this long book worth every second of attention. One could almost criticize Morgan for doing too much in this book. But each essay retains enough autonomy and depth to allow the reader to come back again and again. Surely, given the scope of the book one will find something to argue with Morgan about; but the excellence, rigor, and indeed, filiality swimming throughout these pages will not be the bone of contention. By all rights, this book should become a classic text of English speaking Levinas scholarship. Whether one is a new to Levinas or a seasoned scholar, one will not fail to enjoy this book. We hope it finds the wide reading it deserves. ... Read more

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In this accessible and carefully crafted work, Michael B. Smith provides readers a systematic exposition of the essential concepts and themes that circulate throughout the thought of Emmanuel Levinas, a major voice in twentieth century thought. Unlike many recent studies that have pur-ported to examine the scope of Levinas's thinking, "Toward the Outside" is distinguished by its attention to texts from both of Levinas's two main genres: the philosophical and the confessional. Organised in three parts, the first examines key pairs of concepts -- totality/infinity, same/other, saying/said, among others. In Part 2, Smith more explicitly identifies themes that are essential to our better understand-ing of Levinas -- Judaism and the Holocaust, temporality, Levinas's treatments of Husserl and Heidegger, Derrida's reading of Levinas, and others. Finally, in Part 3, his commentary, based on close readings of selected Levinas texts, meticulously follows and highlights the development of Levinas's thought. ... Read more

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A solid introduction
Michael B. Smith's book is among the best introductions to Levinas' thought available.This book does an extraordinary job explaining the central concepts of Levinas' philosophy in clear language.The book has an easy to follow structure, and can function as a book and also as a reference for those wanting a quick and dirty definition of Levinas' key terms.The most impressive feature of this book is its breadth, for it takes into account Levinas' phenomenological and Jewish influences, and also shows an excellent understanding of the development of Levinas' thought.

Those who find this book helpful should also look at Jeffrey Dudiak's _The Intrigue of Ethics_ and Adriaan Peperzak's _Toward the Other_. ... Read more

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Recent discussions in the philosophy of religion, ethics, and personal political philosophy have been deeply marked by the influence of two philosophers who are often thought to be in opposition to each other, Søren Kierkegaard and Emmanuel Levinas. Devoted expressly to the relationship between Levinas and Kierkegaard, this volume sets forth a more rigorous comparison and sustained engagement between them. Established and newer scholars representing varied philosophical traditions bring these two thinkers into dialogue in 12 sparkling essays. They consider similarities and differences in how each elaborated a unique philosophy of religion, and they present themes such as time, obligation, love, politics, God, transcendence, and subjectivity. This conversation between neighbors is certain to inspire further inquiry and ignite philosophical debate. ... Read more

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Emmanuel Levinas is one of the most influential philosophers of the Twentieth Century and is best known for his work on ethics and theology.Levinas & the Political analyzes themes such as the deconstruction of metaphysics as a reconfiguration of the political embodiment; the face of alterity, his engagement with Heidegger and Bataille, and his re-thinking of the political for an understanding of the significance of the Holocaust. ... Read more

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This collection of 21 essays, dating from 1951 to 1988, touches on the major themes of concern to Levinas. Topics include the idea of culture, transcendence, justice and charity, ethics and the meaning of temporality. ... Read more

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Difficult and Deep

After taking an intense and exceptionally stimulating course in Current Continental Philosophy at Texas A&M University (under Professor Steve Daniel, who has a published book that goes along with this pioneering undergraduate course), I bought this book to delve more into the highly intriguing thought of the Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas -- one of the most important thinkers of the day and of all time for that matter, who is usually associated with the twentieth century enterprise of Deconstruction, as of that of Jacques Derrida who is vocal in his indebtedness to the "masterful" thought of Levinas.I would very much recommend this book, but only if you have an appropriate background in philosophical context, as to accommodate to the text's highly difficult and complex prose and content.

As the back cover of the book indicates, I did find this book to actually be an unexpectedly helpful and engaging guide (in spite of its difficulty) to serve as a proficient introduction to the prolific thought of this outstanding author.The essays contained in the book span over a spectrum of about forty years; so the reader is able to glimpse the progression and difference from Levinas's earlier work to his later essays, of which the book is for the better mainly comprised.

For me, these essays are paradigmatic of very technical and complex philosophy mixed with soaring religious insights into the inter-human (and ultimately highly ethical) condition.In Entre-Nous, the reader meets in a face-to-face way why Levinas's work is so vital -- in which ontology is unravelled into ethics, as philosophy is ultimately undone into what is truly religious.

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Vigilant Memory focuses on the particular role of Emmanuel Levinas's thought in reasserting the ethical parameters for poststructuralist criticism in the aftermath of the Holocaust. More than simply situating Levinas's ethics within the larger context of his philosophy, R. Clifton Spargo offers a new explanation of its significance in relation to history.

In critical readings of the limits and also the heretofore untapped possibilities of Levinasian ethics, Spargo explores the impact of the Holocaust on Levinas's various figures of injustice while examining the place of mourning, the bad conscience, the victim, and the stranger/neighbor as they appear in Levinas's work. Ultimately, Spargo ranges beyond Levinas's explicit philosophical or implicit political positions to calculate the necessary function of the "memory of injustice" in our cultural and political discourses on the characteristics of a just society.

In this original and magisterial study, Spargo uses Levinas's work to approach our understanding of the suffering and death of others, and in doing so reintroduces an essential ethical element to the reading of literature, culture, and everyday life.

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent study on contemporary ethical theory
Spargo (English, Marquette University), author of _The Ethics of Mourning: Grief and Responsibility in Elegiac Literature_, here undertakes a project much larger and more ambitious than this volume's title would indicate. He succeeds in the endeavor to reground ethical and political behavior in the present age, with the ethical metaphysics of Levinas and the "memory of injustice" serving as common points of departure. Extremely erudite and well-researched, Vigilant Memory advocates the standpoint, emerging from a critical rereading of Levinas, of "ethics as critique." This unique perspective criticizes cultural, social, and political practices from the point of view of the ethical, i.e. the face-to-face relationship. One's caring for the suffering Other individual is anterior to public policy decisions. "Ethical critique" thus serves as a perpetual critique of existing polities. This revolution of traditional thinking signals nothing less than a Copernican shift in moral theory. Spargo's volume joins a burgeoning number of texts that use Levinas's thought to conceptualize an ethically-informed social-political theory. Additionally, the author's unique interdisciplinary approach to the subject matter culls more critical resources than traditional exegetes of Levinas have been comfortable to examine and utilize. ... Read more

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In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in the work of Emmanuel Levinas, widely recognized as one of the most important yet difficult philosophers of the 20th century. In this much-needed introduction, Davis unpacks the concepts at the centre of Levinas's thought - alterity, the Other, the Face, infinity - concepts which have previously presented readers with major problems of interpretation. Davis traces the development of Levinas's thought over six decades, describing the context in which he worked, and the impact of his writings. He argues that Levinas's work remains tied to the ontological tradition with which he wants to break, and demonstrates how his later writing tries to overcome this dependency by its increasingly disruptive, sometimes opaque, textual practice. He discusses Levinas's theological writings and his relationship to Judaism, as well as the reception of his work by contemporary thinkers, arguing that the influence of his work has led to a growing interest in ethical issues among poststructuralist and postmodernist thinkers in recent years.Comprehensive and clearly written, this book will be essential reading for students and researchers in continental philosophy, French studies, literary theory and theology. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Terrific Introduction
I am very pleased with this book.Davis begins by orienting Lev's work within Husserl's phenomenology and distinguishes Lev from Heidegger.So many thinkers are difficult to comprehend because lousy intro books don't place them in context.Davis elegantly relates the role of ethics in distinction to Heidegger's concerns.He goes deeper by discussing the influence of Descartes and Kant leading to Lev's postmodern ethic.Davis writing is direct, yet still conveys passion for Lev's accomplishments.Finally, he consistently iterates that he is in some ways doing a disservice to Lev by paraphasing his work into a meager introduction.It may have disserved Lev, but it sure helped me and many others.Great book I highly recommend.

to repeat
just wanted to confirm the sense described in the previous review (and add an additional star) -- this is a very helpful and interesting introduction to Levinas (which is, i think, pretty unusual for intros to french thinkers).it's short and easy to read while also pointing to the complexity in both the thought and reception of Levinas.also, even if you've already read some Levinas, this book can still help orient you within his work by discussing some of the conceptual stakes with which he is engaged.

Levinas Unveiled
Davis' book takes the reader through Levinas' major works clarifying some of the ideas that have puzzled readers for some time.His discussions on "Totality and Infinity" include expositions of the central ideasand, more importantly, thoughts regarding Levinas' writing style. Davisdescribes the "Levinas effect" which is often the product ofreading his difficult prose.This effect is the tendency of interpretersto use Levinas in order to forward their own ideas.Davis argues that thiseffect shows us how Levinas has the ability to take the reader beyond Beingsince the text is constantly questioning and often frustrating the reader. This ability to question the reader is a reflection of the relationshipthat exists between the "Same" and the "Other," therelationship with which Levinas spent his life writing about. Mostimportantly, Davis' book takes the reader through other works by showingtheir relationship to "Totality and Infinity," Levinas' magnumopus. In summary, an essential aid in understanding the thinker becauseof its chronological discussions of Levinas' major works, from essays onHeidegger and Husserl to the writings on Rabbinic Judaism. ... Read more

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Emmanuel Levinas is now widely recognized alongside Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Sartre as one of the most important Continental philosophers of the twentieth century. His abiding concern was the primacy of the ethical relation to the other person and his central thesis was that ethics is first philosophy. His work has had a profound impact on a number of fields outside philosophy--such as theology, Jewish studies, literature and cultural theory, psychotherapy, sociology, political theory, international relations theory and critical legal theory. ... Read more

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Levinas on politics, postcolonialism and globalization, animals and the environment, and science and technology. ... Read more

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Edith Wyschogrod presents the first full-length study in English of the important contemporary French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. It is a revision of the author's earlier study and includes discussions of his recent writings as well as current scholarship. Dr. Wyschogrod's extensive discussion of Levinas's relation to Judaism, especially his use of literature from the Torah and other religious writings, will be of interest to religious scholars. The author compares Levinas's thought with that of his contemporaries, most notably Jacques Derrida and Husserl. ... Read more