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Revista Portuguesa de ilosofia
Emmanuel Levinas: Philosopher and JewAuthor(s): Richard A. CohenSource: Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia, T. 62, Fasc. 2/4, Entre Razão e Revelação: A'Lógica' daDimensão Semíta na Filosofia / Between Reason and Revelation: The 'Logic' of the SemiticDimension in Philosophy (Apr. - Dec., 2006), pp. 481-490
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nCltir\
RPF'
V
Iv-jffl
62 2006
Emmanuel
Levinas:
Philosopher
nd
Jew
Richard
A. Cohen*
Abstract:
Levinas
seamlessly
nites
philosophy
nd
religion
ia
ethics.
By doing
o he
satisfies hilosophy'suestfor ustificationyfinding
t neither
n
epistemology
or
aesthetics
nor
in
an
escapist
"fundamentalism")
ut in
the
responsibility
f
each
person
for
each
other
nd
for
ll others.
That
is to
say,
the
"ground"
f meaning
emerges
neither
n
intellect
or
imagination
but
in the
moral
responsibilities
ne
person
has
for
nother
nd,
beyond
hese
lready
nfinite bligations,
n the
ustice
-
law
and
equality
that
uch
responsibilities
equire
nd
engender.
ll
of
this
s at
the
ame
time
consistent
xpression,
ndeed
profoundly
ature
xpression
f
the
ethical
monotheist
ision
of
traditional
abbinic
Judaism
nd
of non-mythological
religious
onsciousness
more
generally.
Key
Words:
Commandment;
thics;
Judaism;
Justice;
aw;
Levinas,
Emmanuel
(1906-1995);
Monotheism;
bedience;
eace;
Philosophy; eligion;
Responsi-
bility;
almud;
heology;
orah;Universalism.
Resumo:
O
pensamento
e
Emmanuel
Levinas
nduz
uma
unido
perfeita
ntre
ilosofia
e
Religido
mediante
Etica.
Nesta
medida,
filosofo
a
resposta
pergunta
a
Filo-
sofia
pela
sua
propria
ustificagdo,
ustificagdo
ssa
que
ele ndo
encontra
nem
na
epistemologia
em
na estetica
nem
em
qualquer
forma
de
escapismo
fundamenta-
lista),
mas
na
responsabilidade
e cada
pessoa
por
cada
um e
por
todos.
Ora
isto
equivale
dizerque
o
"fundamento"
ara
o sentidondo
emerge
emdo
intelecto
em
da
imaginacdo,
mas
sim
da
responsabilidade
moral
ue
nos
obriga
cada um
diante
dos
outros
e,
para
Id
destas
obrigacoes
nfinitas,
os
compromete
om
a
justica
-
representada
o
principio
a
legalidade
da
equidade
-
requerida
engendrada
or
essas mesmasresponsabilidades. udo sto,para o autor, ao mesmotempo xpres-
*
University
f
North
arolina
Charlotte,
North
Carolina,
U.S.A.).
-
About
Levinas,
he uthor
of
the
rticle
writes:
Emmanuel
evinas
1906-1995)
s now
recognized
s
one
of
themost
minent
philosophers
nd Jewish
hinkers
f
the
wentieth
entury.
orn n
Kovno
Kaunas),
Lithuania;
uni-
versity
tudent
t
Strasburg
nd
Freiburg
under
Edmund
Husserl
nd
Martin
Heidegger);
rofessor
of philosophy
t
theuniversities
f
Poitiers,
Nanterre
nd
Paris-Sorbonne;
tudent
f
the
Talmudic
master
hoshani;
uthor
f
two
majorphilosophical
ooks,
Totality
nd
Infinity
1961)
and
Other-
wise than
Being
or
Beyond
Essence
(1974)
as
well s
numerous
works
n Jewish
hought;
ialogue
partner
ith
ope
John
aul
11;
director
f
the
prestigious
cole
Normale
sraelite
Orientale
n
Paris;
Levinaswas a central igurentherevival fJudaismnFrance.An orthodox ew, evinaswroten
French;
he
knew classical
Greek
and
Latin,
Russian,
biblical
and
modern
Hebrew,
Aramaic,
German,
rench,
nglish
and
Yiddish."
i r^n
©
Revista
Portuquesa
de Filosofia
P
171
j
i
DUrPF
r^n
62.2006
J481-490
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^£2
Richard A. Cohen
sdo
consistente,
e
facto,
ma
expressdo rofundamente
adura a visdo tica
monoteistao Judaismo abinico
,
de uma
forma
mais
geral,
e toda
forma
e
consciencia
eligiosa
do
mitologica.
Palavras-Chave:
andamento; Ltica; udaismo;
ustiga;
ei; Levinas,
Emmanuel
(1906-1995);Monoteismo; bediencia; az;
Filosofia;Religido;Responsabili-
dade; Talmude;
eologia;
ora;
Universalismo.
Religion
s the excellence
proper
to
sociality
with the
Absolute,
or,
f
you
will,
n
the
positive
sense of the
expression,
Peace with the other. ..This
seems to me fundamental
o
the
Judaic
faith,
n which
the
relation o God is
inseparablefrom heTorah;that s, nseparablefrom herecognitionf the
other
person.
The relation o God
is
already
ethics; or,
as Isaiah 58 would
have
it,
the
proximity
o
God,
devotion
tself,
s devotion o the other
man.1
the
philosopher
nd
Jewish
hinker
mmanuel
evinas here s no
divorce
etween
hilosophy
nd
religion.
There s a communication
between aith
nd
philosophy/1
e
writes,
andnot
he
notorious
on-
flict. ommunication
n
bothdirections."2
o
doubt he
continuity
etween
the woderivesrom hefact hatJudaismsobligatedo no"theology/1ono
logos
r
dogma
n
conflict
ith
hilosophy.
udaism
s rather
way
of ife
n
covenant
ith
God,
nd suchcovenantal
ife
ncludes
nowledge,
eflection
and
questioning
thementalities
raditionally
ssociated
with
hilosophy.
But the
relationship
s
deeper.
hilosophy
nd
religion
re not
imply
nited
by
ife,
wo f he
many
ctivities
like
ports,
rt
r humor
of human ife.
For Levinasmonotheism
rovides
heultimate
ustification
or
hilosophy,
satisfyinghilosophy's
nnermost
emand
or
ustification,
ut
n
a
way
hat
philosophy
etached rom
eligion
s unable.
How s this
ossible?
Like
many
ewishhinkers
efore
im,
evinas
basic
message
s that eli-
gion
i.e.,
nstitutionally
ndorsed
elationships
ithGod) andethics i.e.,
morality
t the
nterpersonal
evel nd
ustice
t the
ocial
evel)
re
nextri-
cably
nited.
ndeed,
efore
hey
re
eparate
nd
reunited,
hey
orm
n nte-
gral
union.
The
elevation
f
genuine
iety
an neither
iscard
eligion
or
ethics
secular
humanism)
or
sacrifices
thics
or
eligion
Kierkegaard's
"knight
f
faith").
ather,
ne is
the
xpression
nd
fulfilmentf the
other,
and both
require
bedience o
Law. "The
ustice
rendered o
the
Other,
myneighbor,"
evinas
writes,
gives
me an
unsurpassable
roximity
o God.
1
Emmanuel
Levinas,
n theTime
f
he
Nations.Translated
y
M. Smith.
Bloomington:
ndiana
University
ress, 1994,
p.
171.
2
Id.,
n
the
Time
f
the
Nations,
p.
170.
Revista
Portuguesa
e Filosofia
rjg]
I
62.2006
LlHEEE
I
172
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Emmanuel
Levinas:
Philosopher
nd Jew
403
...Thepiouspersons theustperson. usticesthe erm udaismreferso
termsmore
vocative f entiment."3
Speaking
venmore
broadly
f
the
ocial
or covenantal haracter f the
human
n
relationothe
divine,
evinas
writesn
Totality
nd
nfinity:
Every-
thing
hat
annot
e reduced o an inter-human
elation
epresents
otthe
superior
orm ut the forever
rimitive
orm f
religion."4
he
origin
f
theory
s not
imply
raxis,
s
Marx
hought;
or s
the
rigin
fboth
heory
and
praxis
more
rimordial
estheticsf ensation r
worldliness,
s Locke
and
Heidegger espectivelyhought.
ather
hey egin
nd
are
permeated
by
the
mperatives
f social ife s ethics.
rayer
nd
ritual,
moral are and
juridical tructures,s well s knowledgend scientificnquiryre all ven-
tures
n
a human
ociality
riven ot
bymyths
nd fantasies ut
byrespect
for thers.
The
primacy
f thics
metaphysics
s ethics was also the
position
aken
in
mid-nineteenth
entury ermany y
RabbiSamson
Raphael
Hirsch,
who
wrote: The
anctuary
f he
aw n
particular
nd theLaw ofGod
n
general,
strive
olely
ormoral
bjectives."5
he
primacy
f
ethics, hen,
s not the
invention
f the Renaissance r the
Enlightenment
r of Reformed nd
Liberal ranches f
religion,
or s t
merely
defensive
r
polemical osition
within aithful
rthodoxy.
o
obeymitzvot,
hedivine ommandments
all
of
which re also
"good
deeds"),
ikethe
compulsory
nnual
reading
f Torah
and
a
lifelong
almud
tudy,
equires
constant
enewal
n
the
present.
nly
in
this
way
re the ommandments
living,"
he
word f
"living
od,"
per-
ative
n
thecreated
world hat
God
Himself
eclares
good" ight
rom he
start.
n
this
way
ternity
nd time
ntersect,
equire
nd elicit ne another.
One
special
and
important
haracteristic
f Levinas
thought
s
that t
takes
hedialectic f tradition
preservationhrough
enewal
seriously
n
relation o themost
mportant
istoricalnd
ntellectualvents
f
the
wen-
tieth
entury.
uch
engagement
oes
not
date
his
thought,
owever,
aking
t
outdatedn thetwenty-firstentury.athert shows thepathofgenuine
3
Id,
Difficult
reedom.Translated
by
S. Hand. Baltimore:Johns
Hopkins University
ress,
1990,
p.
18.
4
Id.,
Totality
nd
Infinity.
ranslated
y
A.
Lingis.
The
Hague:
Martinus
Nijhoff,
969,
p.
79.
5
Samson
Raphael
Hirsch,
Jewish
ymbolism:
he Collected
Writings
olume II.
Translated
by
Paul
Forchheimer
nd Isaac
Levy.
New
York:
Philip
Feldheim,1984,
p.
60. More
recently,
nd
also
in
the
name oihalachic
Judaism,
liezer Berkovits
1908-1992)
has
also
defended
he
primacy
of ethics
n
critical
dialogue
withmodernJewish
hilosophers.
ee,
Eliezer
Berkovits,
ssential
Essays on Judaism.EditedbyD. Hazony.Jerusalem: halem Press,2002. In thephilosophical
tradition ne discoversthe
same
primacy
n
Plato,
n
the
very
form f his discourse:
dialogue.
And one finds
t
again,
to be
sure,
n
Kant. Of
course,
Aristotle
nd
Hegel, among
many
others,
will defend he
primacy
f a
purely
heoretical
irtue, .e.,
self-knowledge.
~
I
r>^|
Revista
Portuguesa
e Filosofia
j
173
I
LwIrPF
>^|
62-2006
|481-490
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484
Richard
A. Cohen
thinking,hichbecomes ncreasinglyrofound hroughout
ts historical
unfolding,
ithout,
or ll
that,
osing
ts
perennial
ases and relevance.
Levinas
responded
nsightfully
o such
contemporary
vents s
WWI,
the
Russian
Revolution,WWII,
he
Holocaust,
uclear
weaponry,
he Stateof
Israel,
pace exploration,
nd
the
ike.His
philosophy
esponded
ritically
to the
various
hilosophical
ormulations
nd
deologies
hat
nderlay
hese
events nd that erved nd continue o serve
explicitly
nd
mplicitly)
s the
intellectualnvironmentfourtimes.
italism,ocialism,
iberalism,
emoc-
racy,
ascism,
henomenology,
xistentialism,
ermeneutics,
tructuralism
and deconstructionthese re the ntellectual
urrentsfthe
wentiethen-
tury.o be sure, hese hilosophiesre oftenxpressedna languagercane
and unknown o the
general ublic,
ut serious
hought
s
hardly
matter
of
ournalism
r
editorializing.
he
special
virtue
f Levinas
philosophy
s
that t
responds
and offers
positive
lternative
at the
highest
evel o the
highest
evel f
hought.
Levinas efends nd renews
specifically
ewish
ision,
riven
y
Torah,
Talmud nd rabbinic
ommentary,
hich s at once faithful
o
halachic
Judaism
i.e.,
normative,
rthodox r rabbinic
Judaism)
nd
relevant o
all
humanity.
o be
Jewish
nd
to be
human re
in no
way
contradictory
postures.
o
speak
the
anguage
f Judaism nd
to
speak
to all
humanity
arecompatible rojects. ertainlynLevinasshandsthey re.Indeed, he
language
f
humanity,
f
t is not to become
overly
bstract
nd
empty,
s
precisely
he
anguage
f
particularanguages
nd
particular
ommunities
of
speakers.
Jewish
niversalism,"
e
writes,
has
always
evealed
tself
n
particularism."6
fidelity
o Judaism hich s at once
a
fidelity
o
humanity
is
possible,
owever,
ot
s a
parochial witnessing,"
hichacks
ny
riteria
f
verifiability,
ut s an
exemplary
oral
esponsibility.
A
truths
universal,"
Levinas
ffirms,
when t
applies
to
every
easonable
eing.
A
religion
s
universal hen
t s
open
oall.
n
this
ense,
he
Judaism
hat inks he
Divine
to
themoralhas
always spired
o be
universal.
..This election s made
upnot f
privileges
ut f
responsibilities."7
Levinas
efends he
morality
nd
ustice
xalted
y
rabbinic udaism ot
with
rade
chool
implicities
ut
rather,
ike
MosesMaimonides
1
135-1204)
in
his
classic The Guide
for
he
Perplexed,
y responding
o and
utilizing
the
veryanguage
fthe
most lever ntellectualuses nd evasions f
today
various cultured
espisers
f
religion."
n thus
resenting
udaisms
a "reli-
gion
for
dults,"8
particular
ut
non-parochialeligion,
evinas efends
t
not
gainst
windmillsnd
maginary
nemies,
r
against
bsolete
hosts
who
6
Id.,
Difficult
reedom,
.
164.
7
Ibidem,
p.
21.
8
See, Id.,
"A
Religion
forAdults." n:
Difficult
reedom,
p.
1
1-23.
Revista
Portuguesa
e Filosofia
rwgi
1
62.2006
USRPF
wgi
I
174
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Emmanuel Levinas:
Philosopher
nd Jew
40c
haunted imespast,but rather gainst hereal intellectualnd spiritual
options
hat
re
n
fact
educing
hefine
ntelligence
f
contemporaryewry
and
contemporary
umanity.
he devil
f
yesterday
s not hedevil f
today,
even
f
the
direction
e
points
s to remains he ame. No doubthe or she
now carries
credit ard and
can be found
hopping
ith
veryone
lse at
Malls.
No doubt
he
speaks hilosophy
oo,
nd can evenbe
"religious."
The
enemies
f
Judaism
nd of
religion
more
generally,
hether reli-
gious"
undamentalists,
gnostics,
theists,
r
simply
hosewhoare ndiffer-
ent,
ave aken
n new
guises,
reated ew
vocabularies,
nd
speak
he atest
lingo.
t is at the
deepest
evels
f
thought,
hen,
hat
evinas
teers course
betweenssimilationndalienation,enewinghemessage fJudaism or
Jews
nd
of thical
monotheism
or
he
wholeworld.
n
the
resent ay
world
of
ideas and
ideologies,
evinas
has
urged
Jews
hat
we mustreturn o
Jewish
wisdom;
this
s
why
n our recitation f this wisdomwe must
reawaken
he eason
hat
as
gone
o
sleep;
his s
why
heJudaism freason
must
ake
recedence
ver
heJudaismf
prayer;
heJew f heTalmudmust
take
precedence
ver
the Jew
f the Psalms."9
Note well: forLevinas he
"Judaism
f
reason"
s theJudaism
f theTalmud
0
And hereason f the
Talmud
what have
lsewhere
alled ethical
xegesis"
is for evinas
ar
closer
o
the lassical
wisdom f
Plato
han t s to themodern ationalism
of Spinoza r themirrormage) nti-rationalismf Derrida.
Levinas
oes
not
nvent
newethics
how absurd
2
(How
dangerous )
Rather,
e
traces
he rreducible
nd
unsurpassable riority
f ethical ran-
scendence
n
the
mperatives
f the
face" f theother
erson.
What
s
new,
first
f ll
and
as
I
have
ndicated,
rethe
pponents
f
monotheism,
ho re
no
longer
onfined
o the
quaint
but
obsolete
igures
f
pagan
dolaters
r
superstitious
impletons,
hough
hese
too, alas,
find heir
ontemporary
avatars.
n
our
world,
he
modern
orld,
he Western"
lobal
world,
hemost
sophisticated
nd
dangerous
pposition
o
religious-ethical
ife omes
from
two elated ronts.
First,
heres
the ise
f
modern
cience,
which
n
ts
egitimate
earch or
verifiable
vidence
eepens
n ancient
Hellenic
isdain
or
iblical
wisdom
with
newdisdain
or he
notions
f
purpose
nd
value
ltogether.
econd,
and
n a
seeming aradox,
here s
therise
f
relativism,
oth
ubjective
nd
9
Id.,
Difficult
reedom,
.
271.
10
For
Levinas,
who was
both a
university rofessor
nd Director
f a Jewish
raining
chool
for eachers
f
Judaism,
he
Talmud
s "thebasis
of all Jewish
ducation";
ee
Difficult
reedom,
p.
287.
1
See,RichardA.Cohen,Ethics, xegesis ndPhilosophy:nterpretationfterevinas.Chicago:
University
f
Chicago
Press,
200
1
12
Kant
expresses
his
ame
view,
he
bsurdity
r
creating
new
ethics,
n
a
footnote
o one or
his ethical
writings.
;
I
pwgi
Revista
Portuguese
e
Filosofia
I
175
I
LlJRPF
wgi
62.2006
1481-490
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aos
Richard
A.
Cohen
social,psychologismndhistoricism.he twodangersrerelated ecause
science
hat
enies
hevalue
ofvalues
n
thename
of
realist
bjectivism
ro-
duces,
s a
necessary y-product,
subjectivism
fvalues.
f values re not
real or
true,
n other
words,
hey
must
be
merely ubjective
nd
arbitrary.
If
Lockecelebrates
primary
ualities,"
nevitably
Nietzsche
ill
elebrate
"secondary
ualities."
eibniz,
efore
ietzsche,
o
Ernst assirer eaches
s,
had
already limpsed
hat
o evenmake
uch distinction
s to reduce hem
both o
anthropology.
For
Levinas,
however,
alues are
very
eal,
or,rather,
hey
re not real
at all:
they
re
better,
igher,
ore
pressing
han hedemands
f
reality
r
thecuriosityfknowledge.The mpossibilityfkilling,"evinaswrites
succinctly,
isnot
eal,
ut
moral."
4
The
hardwon nd now
pervasive
uccess
ofmodern
ciencehas
falsely
ccustomed
s to
taking
the
eal"
especially
what an be
objectified
ia
quantity
nd measure
as the tandard fvalues.
It is an old
association,
eriving
rom ncient
Greece:
what s best
must e
what s most
eal,
nd
what s most
eal s what
ationalitytodays mpirical
objective
ciences)
ays
s real.
Allof
contemporary
hought
s an effort
o
come
o terms
ith his
eduction,
his xile fvalues.
But
nstead
f
xasper-
ating
t,
or
celebrating
t,
or retreated
efore
t,
only
he
hought
f Levinas
has
overcome he
hegemony
f "value
ree" cience
ll the
way
to its roots.
It has donethisneithernthenameof a deepernotion fbeing,whether
Bergson
elan
vital r
Heidegger's
ntological
ifference,
or
n
the
name f
more nclusive
nowledge,
hether usserls
phenomenology
r Foucault
archeology,
or,
inally,
as it
escaped
n
the
llegedly
layful
ameof ess
stable
anguage,
hether
ietzsche's
ominalismr
Derridas
ifference,
ut
rather otherwise
han
being
nd
beyond
ssence"
it
has done
so
in
the
name
f more undamental
nderstanding
f
thics.
Let us not
forget
hat his
olution,
he
ethical,
s farfrom bvious
r
self-evident.
everal
lternatives,
worldviews"
some
brought
o mind
by
thepropernames ustmentioned),ave offeredhemselvess competing
"solutions"o the
problem
fvalue.
will
briefly
ention
hree,
hich label
scientism,
estheticism
nd
nfantilism.
The
first, cientism,
esolves o be scientific
o the end. Science and
nothing
ut
cience
resents
he ruth
f
reality.
he
true s real ndthe eal s
true.
All
the
rest s
illusion, rror,
gnorance
the
"not
yet"
cientific. he
problem
ith his
iew, owever,
s that cience emains
bstinately
lind o
itsown
nability
o
scientificallyustify
ts
original
esolution,
tsownunsci-
entificaithn science. cience enies alues ut
till
alues
tself
13
See the brilliant
nalyses
of Ernst
Cassirer,
he
Philosophy
f
the
Enlightenment.
ranslated
by
F.
C.
A.
Koellin
& J. P.
Pettegrove.
rinceton: rinceton
University
ress, 1968,
pp.
114-120.
14
E.
Levinas,
Difficult
reedom,
.
10.
Revista
Portuguesa
e Filosofia
pj^I j
62.2006
Portuguesa
pj^I
UJRPF
|
j
176
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Emmanuel Levinas:
Philosopher
nd
Jew
437
Aestheticism,n contrast,laims that cientificnowledges a limited
form
"slavish"
ays
Nietzsche)
fthe
magination,
hich
s
then nstalled
n
the
hegemonic
lace
denied
o
science.
Here
the
rtist,
he reator
f
values,
whether
person
r a
projected
erson
Heidegger
alls
it
"being"
r
"£5
gibt"),
eigns
upreme.
Unfortunately,
multiplicity
f
incompatible
nd
conflicting
iewpoints
esults
rom his ubstitution.
ach
ultimately
eeks
its
"day
n the
un"
by
meansof a
violence overt
r hidden
that,
aving
rejected
he
objectivity
f
science,
ach acks
the
wherewithalo criticize
r
morally
esist.
The third solution"
s a
stultifying
nd
obstinate etreat
nto
pre-modern
ignorance.utunable oanswer ven hemost ommon ense uestions ith
regard
o
scientific
ruths,
he
dherents
f this strich
ike
position
nd
up
silencing
hose
who sk them.
None
of
theseworldviews
popular
r
sophisticated
hough
hey
an be
-
are
able
to
satisfy
he
mature,
ober and
worldly
wisdom
of
normative
Judaism.
Hebrew
tudies,"
evinashas
written,
do
not
bring
man to an
exotic
wisdom,
ut
reawaken
ne of
the ouls
ofhis
soul.
They
herald
man
freed
rom
myths
nd
identify
pirit
with
ustice,"15
cience
without alues
cannot
e
total.
Aestheticism
ithout
riteria
annot
ontrol
iolence.nfan-
tilism
ithoutruth
r
reality
s enslavement.
he
unacknowledged
otor f
all threes anethics owhich hey efuse voice.
The
task
Levinas
ets for
himselfs
to enter
nto he
heart
f the most
sophisticated
wentieth
entury
hilosophical
justifications"
or he bove
three
worldviews
nd
to
expose
hem at close
quarters,
n ntimate
erms
for heir
nadequacies.
e reveals
heir
vert nd
atent
goism.
Andhe does
this
not
by
iting
he
Bibleor
telling
ales
f
pious
rabbis r
raising
is
voice,
but
by ngaging
nd
challenging
he
most dvanced
iscourses
f
contempo-
rary
hilosophy
nd
Western
ivilization.
For
Levinas
he
ery
umanity
f
hehuman
s constituted
s a
moral ela-
tion an "inter-subjective"elation requiringindnesso one neighbors
and
ustice
for ll.
Instead
f
thinking
f humans
s real
beings
who
take
on moral
behavior
s
a
gloss,
r as
intellects
urpassing
ommon
morality,
Levinas
onceives
f
humans
s
moral
beings
or
whom
hereal
-
both
s
science
nd
culture
takes
on sense based
upon personal
esponsibility,
moral
bligations
nd
ustice.
Not
freedom
nd culture
ut
responsibility
nd
justice
ie at
theheart
f
human
elfhood.
Such
a
perspective
emands
radical
eorientation
n
philosophy
nd
the
Western
cientific
utlook
s a
whole.
Socrates,
etaining
is distance
n
thefreedom
f
thought,
aid
that
one
must
know he
good
to
do the
good."
Levinas, aithfulothedecisive eclarationf heJewst Mount inai:unase
15
Ibidem,
p.
276.
"1
r>gi
Revista
Portuguesa
e Filosofia
I
'
'
177
I
UJRPF
r>gi
62-2006
J481-490
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4gg
Richard
A. Cohen
v'nishmah"Exodus24:7),"Wewilldo andbe obedient,"nd to all genuine
religious
obedience,"
ays
one must o the
good
to know he
good.Obeying
the rder
f
goodness
s tobe neither
gnorant
or
duped,
ut obecome
ne's
unique
human elf.
I
am
irreplaceable
n
my
ssumption
f
responsibility.
Being
chosen nvolves
surplus
f
obligations
or
which he
T
of moral
consciousness
peaks."
6
Moral lection
s not n
easypath.
t
requires
ffort
to
help
others nd effort
o
keep
oneself
morally
eady
o
help
thers. thics
and
religion o
hand
n
hand.
The aw
is effort."evinas
lso
writes,
The
daily
fidelity
o theritual
esture
emands
courage
hat
s
calmer,
obler
and
greater
han hat f
hewarrior.
TheTalmudistoes
nothesitate
o
ink
this oyal wakeningo the overeignower'fa people apableofthedaily
ritual.
..The law for heJew
s never
yoke.
t carries
ts own
oy,
which
nourishes
religious
ife..."
7
The
oy
s not
he xuberance
f nimal
itality,
and
certainly
ot
nypleasure
n
domination,
utrather
he
heightened
nd
grateful
onsciousnessfcontribution
service
o
others,
nd
hence ervice
to God.
The
Hebrew
Bible advocates
hat ne "love
your
neighbor
s
yourself."
Levinas
omments
hat he rue
meaning
f his
xpression
s that
oving
ne's
neighbor
s oneself. he
human annot
e
grasped
n
thebasisof
reality
s
determined
y
cience
r a
reality
s determined
y
culture
nd tsrhetoric.
Rather,hehuman s called o bebetter,alled o andas the ask fredeeming
the
world
hrough orality
nd
ustice.
uch s
the
highest
ask
f
humanity,
the
"definition,"
r rather
he election f
humanity
nd
the source
of all
meaning,
ncluding
ll scientific
nd cultural
meanings.
t
is
a
joy
in
the
humility
f
giving
ather han
eceiving.
It is
noteworthy
hat or evinas ven
he nfinite
bligations
f
morality,
the ver
nadequate
eedsof
kindness
ne
person erforms
or
nother,
he
obligations
hat o onecan fulfill
ully
ut
hat
o onecan
rightly
hirk
even
these
bligations
re nsufficiento thehuman ask.
here s a
difference,
hat
is to
say,
etween
morality
nd
ustice.
f
give verything
o
my
neighbor
then amneglectingtherswho are notpresent.Morality,ith ts nfinite
obligations,
s not
nough
heworld s not Garden
f
Eden;
there re
more
than wo
people
n
theworld. here re
many: amily,
riends,
ommunities,
countries
nd
humanity
s a
whole,
nd
each
requires
tsfair hare.
ven
f
I
give verything
even
my
ife to and
for
nother,
stillhaveno
right
o
remain
ndifferent
o
theharm hat nother
may
uffer rom
third
arty.
To
give
fair hare o others nd to
protect
he ther
erson
rom
thers,
equal
treatmentnder aw s
required.
urthermore,
ll the
uantitative
nd
rational
esources
f
modern cience re
required
o
equitably
istribute
food,
lothing,
tc.;
o
transport
oods;
o ncrease
gricultural
nd manufac-
16
Ibidem,
p.
177.
17
Ibidem,
p.
19.
Revista
Portuguesa
e Filosofia
rj&\ j
62.2006
ortuguesa
UJRPF
j&\ j
I
178
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Emmanuel Levinas:
Philosopher
nd
Jew
^g^
turingroductivity,tc. n otherwords, cience, roperlynderstood,s far
from
eing
n
enemy
f
value.
Rather,
ts rue
ocations to be
in
the
ervice
of
ustice.
his
nsight
s
mportant
n
our
day
fdisenchantmentith
cience.
Yes,
cience s notthe
lpha
and
omega
hat ts
early
nthusiasts
hought
t
might
e. But
no,
it is not therefore
sham.
Morality,
o be
fair,
equires
justice;ustice,
o
be
possible, equires nowledge
nd
science.Value s there-
fore
ot
supplement
o modern
cience;
t
s its
very
aison 'etre.
Weapons,
scientificallyroduced,
an
kill,
utmedical
quipment
nd
training,
cientif-
ically roduced,
an heal.And
weapons,
n
our
unredeemed
orld,
an also
protect
nnocent
ictims.
tthebottom f science the
veryustification
f
science lies ervice o usticewhichs basedon anirreducible oral bliga-
tion o ove he
neighbor
s oneself.18
I
will onclude
eginning
ith citation
y
Levinas,
aken rom n article
devoted o thebiblical
xpression
in
the
mage
of God"
Genesis
:26)
as
found
n
Rabbi
Hayyim
fVolozhins
efesh
a
Hayyim,
nd
testifying
o the
unsurpassablemport
fhuman
esponsibility:
Man
occupies
n
exceptional
place.Everything
epends
n
him
who s at the
bottom,
n
contactwith he
matter
n
whichhis actions re carried ut.
..The roots f his soul1
each
the
op
of the
hierarchy.
..There
s here n
ethical
ignificance
o
religious
commandments:
hey
mount
o
etting
hosewho are
other han elf ither
live r,nthe ase of ransgression,ie.Does not hebeing fman mount o
being-for-the-other?
an
exercises
is
mastery
nd
responsibility
s mediator
between lokim
God]
and the
worlds
y ensuring
he
presence
r absence
ofElokim...
his
mastery
s
interpreted
ithout esitations
responsibility.
...
Mans
nteriority
erives
rom is
responsibility
or heuniverse.
he
power
of God subordinated
o
responsibility
ecomes
moral orce.Man does not
sin
against
God
whenhe
disobeys
ommandments;
e
destroys
orlds."19
Each
human s
a moralAtlas
upon
whose shoulders
estsGod creation.
The
prophet
Micah
expressed
his ame
thought:
What oes the Lord
require fyoubut todo justice, ndto ovekindness,ndto walkhumbly
with
our
God?"
Micah
:8).
Wewould
omment:
o
walk
humbly
ithGod
is
to
ovekindness
nd thereforeo do
ustice.
Mercy
without
ustice
s mere
sentiment,
elpless gainst
he
nslaughts
f
violence.
ustice ithout
mercy
is
inhuman,
bstract
nd
rigid.
Both without
God become
arrogance.
Together ercymorality
n theface f
he
ther
erson)
nd
ustice
law
and
equality)
stablish
he
Kingdom
f God on
earth,
or uch
a
"kingdom"
s
18
On
morality
nd
ustice
n
Levinas see the
excellent ook
by RogerBurggraeve,
he Wisdom
of
Love n the ervice
f
Love: EmmanuelLevinas
on
Justice, eace,
and Human
Rights.
ranslated
bv Jeffreyloechl.Milwaukee,MarquetteUniversity ress,2002.
19
Emmanuel
Levinas,
Beyond
heVerse. ranslated
y
G. Mole.
Bloomington:
ndiana Univer-
sity
Press, 1994,
pp.
159,160, 161, 162;
Levinas also
wrote Preface o the French
translation
f
Nefesh
a
Hayyim.
aGrasse:
Verdier, 986,
pp.
vii-x.
X
[>sgi
Revista
Portuguesa
e Filosofia
I
179 I UiRPF
>sgi
62.2006
1
81-490
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490
Richard
A.
Cohen
nothingther han thebrotherhoodf man"foundnthepeace (shalom)
that
espects
ather
han
educes
ifference.
To
put
heother efore he
elf s not o diminish
ut o
elevate he
elf.
n
turning
tself
nside-out,
s it
were,
or he
ther,
he elf ises o
the
esponsi-
bilities hat onstitute
ts
very umanity.
uch
elevation
s
holy,
or
t rises
above
being
which ims
only
o
persevere
n
conatus
ssendi)
r
aggrandize
more
"will
o
power") eing.
t s a kind f
miracle
without
mystification
in
being,
n election
igher
han
eing,
demand
or elf-sacrifice
voked
y
and
put
nto
uestion y
the ther.
uch a
response-ability
equires
armore
than
ofty
entiments
r beatific
eelings,
or
t s theothers
material
eeds,
the ufferingftheother,evinasnsists,hat onstitutehe piritual eeds
of
thehuman elf.
To care for he
"widow,
he
orphan,
he
tranger"
efore
oneself
s to
feed,
loth,house,
to
provide
ducation,
obs,
public
safety,
health
are,
old
age
security,olitical
nfranchisement
nd
ustice
for ll.20
All
of theworld value nd
meaning
from
he
ntimate
ighs
f ove
to the
universal
ymbols
f
mathematicsstands
r falls n the
houlders f
these
very ressing istorically
oncrete
esponsibilities.
Vaclav
Havel,
former resident
f
theCzech
Republic,
nderstood
his,
and understoodts
nner
elation
o the
pirit
f
Europe
s the
ntegral
eir
f
both
Athensnd
Jerusalem,
henhe
spoke
he
following
ords
o theFrench
Senate,nParis,nan address eliveredn March ,1999:
Four
years ago
a
LithuanianJew died who had studied
n
Germany
o
eventually
become
renowned
rench
hilosopher.
is
name
was Emmanuel
evinas.Guided
by
the
pirit
ftheoldest
European
raditions,
pparently
ost
f ll
by
Jewish
raditions,
he
taught
hat
he
ense
of
responsibility
or heworld
s born n us with
look nto he
faceof fellow uman
being.21
The face
of theother
erson
s not maskfor hidden
God. The
singu-
larity
f each other s nota flaw r failure
n
being
o
be
sublated.
Rather,
in
the
particular esponsibilities
nd
obligations
and
the
ustice
a
face
calls
forth,
n the
giving
hat ach
face,
ach
person
n his or her
ingularity,
elicits,what arises is thevery nspiration,hevery levation, hevery
epiphany
f
God on earth.
n
theface
f
the
ther,
n
each others
rreducible
alterity,
ncountered
thically,
etter
han
eing,
here s traced
n
earth
re-
cisely
he
image
nd ikeness fGod."
20
WhileLevinas
supports
he "liberal tate"
which
he describes
s "the
modality ccording
o
which
he
conjunction
f
politics
nd ethics s
intrinsicallyossible."
Emmanuel
Levinas,
Outside
the
Subject.
Translated
by
M.
B. Smith. Stanford:Stanford
University
ress,
1994,
p.
123,
he
conceives t
n
terms f a
socially
responsible
iberalism.Hence it would be closer
to the iberal-
ism of T. H.
Green,
s found
n
his Lectures n the
Principles
f
Political
Obligation.
dited
by
Paul
Harris nd JohnMorrow. ambridge:CambridgeUniversityress,1986,rather hanthe classical
or
individualistic aissez-faire iberalism of John Stuart
Mill or of
those
who
style
hemselves
"neo-conservatives"
n
America
oday.
21
Vaclav
Havel,
address to the French
Senate,
March
3, 1999,
Paris.
Revista
Portuguesa
e Filosofia
rj^l
I
62-2006
Portuguesa
rj^l
UiRPF I 180