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THE UNBEARABLE BURDEN OF LEVINASIAN ETHICS

THE UNBEARABLE BURDEN OF LEVINASIAN ETHICS AbstractLevinas's treatment of persecution as the inaugural basis of ethical responsibility tacitly relies on the ethical subject's availability for seduction through an invitation to profane the beloved that is the obverse of the face. Using Jean Laplanche's conception of the enigmatic signifier, I interpret the face–beloved dyad as a pathological response to the primary, overwhelming, and persecutory demand of the breast on the infant. Furthermore, I suggest that Levinas refuses to acknowledge what precedes the anxiety of the enigmatic signifier – the encounter with spacing and temporality that announces the subject into the world. Finally, I challenge the viability of an ethical model that relies on a Judeo-Christian notion of non-reciprocity, which forces survivors of violence into an untenable subject position, thereby reifying their continued erasure as ethical subjects. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Angelaki: Journal of Theoretical Humanities Taylor & Francis

THE UNBEARABLE BURDEN OF LEVINASIAN ETHICS

Rajiva, Jay
Angelaki: Journal of Theoretical Humanities , Volume 18 (4): 14 – Dec 1, 2013
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THE UNBEARABLE BURDEN OF LEVINASIAN ETHICS

Abstract

AbstractLevinas's treatment of persecution as the inaugural basis of ethical responsibility tacitly relies on the ethical subject's availability for seduction through an invitation to profane the beloved that is the obverse of the face. Using Jean Laplanche's conception of the enigmatic signifier, I interpret the face–beloved dyad as a pathological response to the primary, overwhelming, and persecutory demand of the breast on the infant. Furthermore, I suggest that...
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Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2014 Taylor & Francis
ISSN
1469-2899
eISSN
0969-725X
DOI
10.1080/0969725X.2013.869028
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractLevinas's treatment of persecution as the inaugural basis of ethical responsibility tacitly relies on the ethical subject's availability for seduction through an invitation to profane the beloved that is the obverse of the face. Using Jean Laplanche's conception of the enigmatic signifier, I interpret the face–beloved dyad as a pathological response to the primary, overwhelming, and persecutory demand of the breast on the infant. Furthermore, I suggest that Levinas refuses to acknowledge what precedes the anxiety of the enigmatic signifier – the encounter with spacing and temporality that announces the subject into the world. Finally, I challenge the viability of an ethical model that relies on a Judeo-Christian notion of non-reciprocity, which forces survivors of violence into an untenable subject position, thereby reifying their continued erasure as ethical subjects.

Journal

Angelaki: Journal of Theoretical Humanities – Taylor & Francis

Published: Dec 1, 2013

Keywords: Levinas; ethics; trauma; Derrida

References