- Hardcover: 160 pages
- Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (1 July 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 041540276X
- ISBN-13: 978-0415402767
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 13.5 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
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.
About the Author
University of Warwick, UK
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I come back to this introduction for very succinct insights into the broad range of Levinas's work. It is part of the Routledge series, which has quite a precise format. But the readings are intelligent, and give a lot of guidance without expecting too much advance knowledge. The final section very usefully examines some fundamental criticisms of Levinas.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having already purchased, read and learnt much from the books on Derrida and Bhabha in this series, I had high hopes for this one. My interest in Levinas stems from an interest in the work of Martin Buber, who greatly influenced Levinas (something sadly unacknowledged in this guide by Hand). I was also interested in Levinas because of his influence on Jacques Derrida.
This book does do many things well, which I shall give it recognition for. But I think a great many individuals, who've heard of Levinas and would like to find an introduction to his thought, won't enjoy this, and sadly, for the most part, neither have I. As an introduction to Levinas' key works it is much too difficult, the wording is dense and obscure. Even if this is so with Levinas' works themselves, Hand must remember this is an introduction, a way in for readers to engage a challenging writer. The summaries at the end of each chapter are really poor, and do nothing to aid the reader.
The book does start very well, outlining Levinas' life and contextualising his thought. But by chapter 4, the book had become extremely difficult to read, discussing Levinas' book 'Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence'. From this chapter on, largely, it made Levinas' writings feel less relevant, rather than more, to modern politics or an ethics we, as human beings should and can practice.
Hand does a good job in showing that the core of Levinas' teaching is remaining open to 'the Other'. We can never know all that the Other has to offer, all that the Other is and can be, but we are obligated, when confronted with 'the face' of the Other to show responsiblity. Hand is also honest in his assessment of Levinas' writing - he highlights re-occuring hypocrasy which he finds 'embarrassing', where Levinas preaches openness to other groups, then elsewhere belittles groups 'other' to himself. His (verging extreme) zionist attitudes and views on the talmud were particularly eye-opening, and I certainly respect Levinas considerably less for the hypocrasy and bias he displayed when discussing issues relating to his own ethnic and religious group.
Levinas opposes philosophy which place the fundamental basis of the human condition either as 'dasein' (mere existence - being-in-the-world, as in Heidegger) or structures of difference within symbolic orders (structuralism, e.g. Levi-Strauss). Levinas sees humanity as having its funadamental being in relation to the face of the Other. Hand finishes this book well, with an outline of more recent thinkers who have developed or challenged Levinas' ideas, including Badiou, Butler and Zizek. Hand clearly has a deep knowledge regarding Levinas' work and theory, but large parts of this book are draining and frustrating for his reader; the main problem is that he doesn't do enough to make Levinas' individual works accessible or feel relevant here. Hand is often at his most engaging when highlighting Levinas' failure to act upon his own ethics, which may not inspire readers to engage deeper with this thinker.
This book does do many things well, which I shall give it recognition for. But I think a great many individuals, who've heard of Levinas and would like to find an introduction to his thought, won't enjoy this, and sadly, for the most part, neither have I. As an introduction to Levinas' key works it is much too difficult, the wording is dense and obscure. Even if this is so with Levinas' works themselves, Hand must remember this is an introduction, a way in for readers to engage a challenging writer. The summaries at the end of each chapter are really poor, and do nothing to aid the reader.
The book does start very well, outlining Levinas' life and contextualising his thought. But by chapter 4, the book had become extremely difficult to read, discussing Levinas' book 'Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence'. From this chapter on, largely, it made Levinas' writings feel less relevant, rather than more, to modern politics or an ethics we, as human beings should and can practice.
Hand does a good job in showing that the core of Levinas' teaching is remaining open to 'the Other'. We can never know all that the Other has to offer, all that the Other is and can be, but we are obligated, when confronted with 'the face' of the Other to show responsiblity. Hand is also honest in his assessment of Levinas' writing - he highlights re-occuring hypocrasy which he finds 'embarrassing', where Levinas preaches openness to other groups, then elsewhere belittles groups 'other' to himself. His (verging extreme) zionist attitudes and views on the talmud were particularly eye-opening, and I certainly respect Levinas considerably less for the hypocrasy and bias he displayed when discussing issues relating to his own ethnic and religious group.
Levinas opposes philosophy which place the fundamental basis of the human condition either as 'dasein' (mere existence - being-in-the-world, as in Heidegger) or structures of difference within symbolic orders (structuralism, e.g. Levi-Strauss). Levinas sees humanity as having its funadamental being in relation to the face of the Other. Hand finishes this book well, with an outline of more recent thinkers who have developed or challenged Levinas' ideas, including Badiou, Butler and Zizek. Hand clearly has a deep knowledge regarding Levinas' work and theory, but large parts of this book are draining and frustrating for his reader; the main problem is that he doesn't do enough to make Levinas' individual works accessible or feel relevant here. Hand is often at his most engaging when highlighting Levinas' failure to act upon his own ethics, which may not inspire readers to engage deeper with this thinker.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A Handy Introduction that Serves its Purpose
14 Nov 2008
Format:Paperback
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.
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.
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