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.
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