"The self is only able to maintain itself through continual negation of itself. Being an 'I' is inconceivable without an Other."
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About Emmanuel Levinas
Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) was a Lithuanian-born French philosopher known for his works in phenomenology, existentialism, ethics, and ontology. He studied under Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, eventually developing his unique philosophical system centered around the ethics of interpersonal relationships and the encounter with the Other. Levinas' thought emphasizes the primacy of ethics as the foundation of philosophy, arguing for the responsibility humans have towards one another beyond mere rationality.
Related Quotes
"The Other forcibly reveals to me the world in which my security is rooted."
"Ethics is an optics, through which the face of the other is revealed to me."
"To approach the Other in conversation is to welcome his expression, in which at each instant he overflows the idea a tho..."
"The face commands without ordering."