Description
Book SynopsisEmmanuel Levinas''s phenomenologies of the face of the Other have opened new vistas for contemporary ethical thought, but their implications for political thought have remained largely unexplored. In An-Archy and Justice, William Simmons systematically examines Levinas''s political thought from its foundations to its implications to fill this theoretical void. Levinas worked against the predominant egocentric traditions in Western philosophy, claiming that in order to respond concretely to all Others the ego must rely on political institutions, yet these institutions must always be held in check by the original ethical relationship with the Other. In his penetrating and insightful analysis of Levinas''s work, Simmons argues that Levinas''s philosophy provides a new foundation for political thought by grounding the liberal state on an anarchical ethics. An-Archy and Justice is a ground-breaking and thought-provoking analysis of a profoundly creative thinker.
Trade ReviewProfessor Simmons gives a clear and precise account of the development of Levinas's complex and challenging ethical thought, from Totality and Infinity to Otherwise than Being. This is but a prelude, however, to a masterful exploration of the relationship of Levinas's theory of ethics to the practice of politics. Here Simmons illustrates how Levinas's anarchical politics has much to teach us about the tyranny of a politics practiced for its own sake and about a culture in which ego dominates political discourse. An-Archy and Justice is an important addition to our understanding of Levinas, as well as the politics of our age. -- Cecil Eubanks, Louisiana State University
Simmons provides a reading of Levinas that is both critical of and compatible with the politics with which we are already familiar; rooting our agency and our policies in the Other will renew our approach to ethical and political activity. * Dialogue, October 2007 *
The value of this book is that in it an introduction to the thought of Levinas and this thought's potential import for politics appear together, and flow into each other. -- Jeffrey Dudiak, The King's University College
It is a pleasure to read such a lucid presentation of Levinas. That Simmons writes so clearly about Levinas while at the same time developing the implications of his thought for politics is striking. Seldom have I seen clarity of presentation so gracefully combined with intellectual rigor. -- C. Fred Alford, University of Maryland, College Park; author of Levinas, The Frankfurt School, and Psychoanalysis
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction: Intellectual Biography, Judaism, and the Possibility of a Levinasian Politics Chapter 2 Autonomy, Totality, and Anti-Humanism: Levinas's Critique of the Western Philosophical Tradition Chapter 3 Levinasian Ethics I:Totality and Infinity Chapter 4 Levinasian Ethics II:Otherwise than Being Chapter 5 Ethics and Politics: An-Archy and Justice Chapter 6 Why Tell this Long Story about the Face? Levinas and Liberal Political Thought Chapter 7 Levinas's Humanism of the Other as a Response to Modern and Postmodern Anti-Humanisms Chapter 8 Zionism, Place, and the Other: Toward a Levinasian International Relations Chapter 9 Conclusion: The Questioning of Levinas
