From Alterity to Proximity: Emmanuel Levinas on the Natural Law of Love

Edited book (chapter)


Crowe, Jonathan. 2023. "From Alterity to Proximity: Emmanuel Levinas on the Natural Law of Love." Calo, Zachary R., Neoh, Joshua and Thompson, Keith (ed.) Christianity, Ethics and the Law: The Concept of Love in Christian Legal Thought. United Kingdom. Routledge. pp. 149-163
Chapter Title

From Alterity to Proximity: Emmanuel Levinas on the Natural Law of Love

Book Chapter CategoryEdited book (chapter)
ERA Publisher ID3137
Book TitleChristianity, Ethics and the Law: The Concept of Love in Christian Legal Thought
AuthorsCrowe, Jonathan
EditorsCalo, Zachary R., Neoh, Joshua and Thompson, Keith
Page Range149-163
Chapter Number9
Number of Pages15
Year2023
PublisherRoutledge
Place of PublicationUnited Kingdom
ISBN9780367710071
9781003148920
9780367710057
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003148920-13
Web Address (URL)https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003148920-13/alterity-proximity-jonathan-crowe
Abstract

Emmanuel Levinas’ account of ethics emphasises the face-to-face relation with the other. Levinas’ rich and nuanced phenomenology of this relation traces a dynamic movement – akin to a dance – where the self is continually compelled to both separate herself from and approach the other. Levinas’ emphasis in his first major work, Totality and Infinity, falls on the radical alterity or strangeness of the other. His second major work, Otherwise than Being, shifts the focus to the subject’s need to approach the other, giving rise to a relation of proximity, where the suffering and vulnerability of the other is laid bare. This chapter argues that Levinas’ two major works yield a coherent and compelling account of the diachronic movement of ethical life. Levinas shows, first, how the subject is naturally inclined to self-absorption and enjoyment; second, how this egoistic outlook is inherently unstable; and, third, how the subject’s initial focus on enjoyment creates the separation necessary to assume responsibility for the other. I contend that Levinas’ theory traces what might properly be described as the natural law of love.

KeywordsHumanities; Law; Politics ; International Relations
Contains Sensitive ContentDoes not contain sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020480410. Legal theory, jurisprudence and legal interpretation
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Byline AffiliationsBond University
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