Category Archives: Levinas

Wittgenstein and Levinas on Language: Part Two, Section A

This is a remarkably poorly named blog post, as I will not actually be discussing Wittgenstein and Levinas and their approaches to language until the post after the next one. My previous post was perhaps even more poorly named, as … Continue reading

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Wittgenstein and Levinas on Language: Part One

Introduction I want to talk a bit about how I find that the philosophers Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) and Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) seem to say similar things about the nature of human language. The relevance to theology is that humans are … Continue reading

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An Introduction to Levinas (Part Six-A)

Presence Note: This is the first half of the sixth part in an ongoing commentary on Emmanuel Levinas’s essay “God and Philosophy” (1974). a) In this section Levinas draws on Husserl and Heidegger to describe “consciousness of . . .”. … Continue reading

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An Introduction to Levinas (Part Five-B)

Insomnia Note: This is the second half of the fifth part in an ongoing commentary on Emmanuel Levinas’s essay “God and Philosophy” (1974). It’s longer than usual. This next paragraph is even more dense than usual, so I will take … Continue reading

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An Introduction to Levinas (Part Five-A)

Spirits of the West Note: This is the first half of the fifth part in an ongoing commentary on Emmanuel Levinas’s essay “God and Philosophy” (1974). The Priority of Ontology and Immanence 5. We have said that for Western philosophy … Continue reading

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An Introduction to Levinas (Part Four)

Beyond the Polarity of Faith and Reason Note: This is the fourth part in an ongoing commentary on Emmanuel Levinas’s essay “God and Philosophy” (1974). 4. One can, to be sure, also claim that the God of the Bible has … Continue reading

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An Introduction to Levinas (Part Three)

A Destruction of Transcendence 3. Philosophical discourse must therefore be able to embrace God of whom the Bible speaks – if, that is, this God has a meaning. But once thought, this God is immediately situated within the “gesture of … Continue reading

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An Introduction to Levinas (Part Two)

The Gesture of Being 2. This dignity of an ultimate and royal discourse comes to Western philosophy by virtue of the rigorous coincidence between the thought in which philosophy stands and the reality in which this thought thinks.For thought, this … Continue reading

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An Introduction to Levinas (Part One)

A Commentary on “God and Philosophy” The writings of Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) are difficult, whether in the original French or in translation. I’ve been asked innumerable times where one might begin with him. I don’t recommend starting with his book-length … Continue reading

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“Dear God. I am so lonely.” A response to Doug Coupland

Like 465,000 other people, I follow Douglas Coupland on Twitter. I like his writing. He remains best known for his first novel Generation X (1991), and I figure I have read at least seven of his novels and non-fiction works. … Continue reading

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