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One of the most significant philosophical voices of the twentieth century – the philosopher of ‘the Other’ – Emmanuel Levinas’ work offers a challenge to the discipline of anthropology that claims knowledge of the human. Levinasian philosophy considers subjectivity and identity as ‘secret’. For him an attempt to document humanity should then be placed in an ethics of ignorance and ‘not-knowing’ so that ‘otherness’ can be inspired. Anthropology thus reaches the Levinasian challenge of defining itself as a humanistic science as well as a humanistic documentation of social life. This book endeavours to take Levinasian and anthropological precepts equally seriously and offers tentative conclusions.
“This is a compelling and thought-provoking piece of work. It offers an excellent account and application of Levinas’ work to anthropology, demonstrating the relevance of his philosophical writings to the discipline. The book is clearly written and will be of interest and relevance within the social sciences and in relation to other disciplines.” • Andrew Irving, University of Manchester
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Part I
Introduction: Why Levinas?
Chapter 1. Cosmopolitan Anthropology: A Moral Vision of Human Being and Individual Love
Part II
Chapter 2. At Home in the Integument of the Body: Perceiving beyond Language and Culture
Chapter 3. Being Inspired to Practise an Acultural Ethical Relationality: Testifying
Chapter 4. Tracing the Density of Human Being and Loving the Invisible, Silent Other
Chapter 5. ‘Jews Belong to Eternity’: Attending Selflessly to the Dimension of Homeless Humankind
Conclusion: Another Phenomenology: Ego and Other Always and Already Conjoined in Creation
References
Index