Separation of Judaism of Levinas From his Philosophical Work - Essay Example

Separation of Levinas’s Judaism from his philosophical work In his most celebrated work, Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority, Emmanuel Levinas develops numerous philosophical concepts some of which are attributable to religion and spirituality. As expected, people foster the growth and development of their own religious beliefs. Emmanuel Levinas does the same in his philosophical work as he attributes most of his philosophies to religion, which in this context arises, from his strong faith in the doctrines of Judaism. Religion is a fundamental cultural and social feature that plays a central role in the creation of cohesive societies. Humans as social creatures use religion to help structure their relationship both among themselves and with other animals in the ecosystems. Religion provides specific values and virtues that contribute to the development of cohesive and distinctive societies. In thus understanding, it thus becomes possible to separate Emmanuel Levinas’ Judaism from his philosophical works as the discussion below portrays. Judaism is a philosophy, a religion and a way of life with its adherents believing that they have close relationship with God since they are the descendants of Jacob. As such, God plays a fundamental role in the development of their societies, literatures and oral traditions among other supportive features of the societies (Derrida 76). Just as with any other religion, Judaism strives to explain the relationship between humans and the transcendental order. By doing this, the religion strives to explain the origin of humans and the role that humans play in sustaining the development of life. The faith has both stringent and conservative doctrines that help improve the discipline of the adherents who thus attach every feature of their humanity to the faith. As a monotheist religion, Judaism structures the belief of its adherents to a singular God whose values are essential in the peaceful coexistences in the society despite its dynamic structure. As such, every religious argument that Emmanuel Levinas presents in his philosophical works including in the Totality and Infinity are doctrinal concepts of the Judaism faith. Among his major arguments in the work is the position and role of the “other” in the lives of humans. He argues that humans draw all their ethical values from a relationship with the other. He does not give any in-depth explanation of the “Other” as he strives to make his philosophy acceptable to a wider audience group. Such strategies are characteristic of any author and philosopher who seek to increase both the readership and adoption of their concepts. Despite the vague allusion of the “other”, it becomes evident that it refers to a transcendental order. As a Jew and an adherent of the Judaism, Emmanuel Levinas relationship with God is reliant on the doctrines of his conservative faith (Katz 45). As explained earlier, religion is a fundamental aspect of the society that provides humans with an in-depth understanding of their environments and societies. This way, religion answers some important questions that humans raise concerning their origin and role in the society. By doing this, religion provides particular values and virtues that everyone must appreciate for the creation of an ideal society. Morgan (34) explains that according to Emmanuel Levinas’s explanation, one cannot ascribe to a faith without believing in its teaching key among which is the position of God in such religion. Through Judaism, Levinas appreciates the role of God in the creation of both humanity and ideal societies. In order to coexist in the same societies, God thus provides humans with numerous ethical values that help them appreciate the role and position of each other among other features of a society (Critchley and Bernasconi 22). As Judaism teaches, one must develop a strong relationship with God in order to sustain both their faith and societal values all of which arise from the religion. He explains that a concrete interaction with the “other” results in greater understanding as the “other” opens up to reveal the abstract otherness. This argument is strategic and an empirical portrayal of Judaism. Interactions must always grow, Judaism fosters for intense interactions with God in order to increase one’s understanding of both the faith and the role of God in the society. As one grows his faith, he replenishes his beliefs thus intensifying his or her beliefs in the social values and virtues that the faith fosters. Intensifying the interaction with God therefore through the faith helps people grow spiritually as they understand both God and his requirement better; most of such contribute to the creation of peaceful and cohesive societies since religions propagate specific values. In distinguishing totality from infinity, Emmanuel Levinas adopts a religious explanation, which as explained earlier is a conspicuous attribute to his beliefs in Judaism. He represents a limited world in his explanation portraying a material body and a spiritual world. As Judaism teaches, humanity is limited especially his presence on earth (Davis, 1996). However, the faith propagates for life after death a feature that provides humanity with prolonged relevance but in the spiritual world. The faith thus fosters the development of peaceful and ideal societies in the real world today by presenting a permanent spiritual world. Having the idea of infinity is fundamental in both Emmanuel Levinas’ teachings and the doctrines of Judaism. Unlike totality, infinity extends to the unlimited spiritual world. Levinas explains that through intense interaction with the other, people gain better understanding of their relationship both with God and with other humans; this influences their ability to extend from the total world to the infinity. Despite the totality of human life, it remains limited a feature that implores a connection with God in order to introduce and infuse infinity into an individual’s life (Davidson and Diane 32). Intensifying the interaction with the “other” results in a growing faith, this implies that people must develop lasting relationship both with the religion thus the faith and with God in order to increase their understanding of the society. Age influences an individual’s understanding of the society. Experiences and mental growth of an individual influences their ability to understand the social features that manifest in the society. This implies that as people mature, they learn to make better decisions. Emmanuel Levinas explains that physical growth should resonate in a similar spiritual growth. This implies that as people advance in age, they must continue to intensify their relationship with God thus growing both physically and spiritually. As such, an individual gains better understanding of the society as he contributes to the creation of peaceful and cohesive societies. Failing to grow in faith because of a diminishing relationship with God results in a wayward individual who will not recognize the social values, this way, an individual becomes both violent and a deterrent to the social peace. Physical presence is yet another fundamental feature of Emmanuel Levinas’s philosophy. Judaism just as any other religion has a holy book among other numerous literature. However, Levinas explains that with time, the written literature fall into totality a feature that invokes the input of face-to-face interaction among humans in order to intensify their beliefs. God does not interact with the Jews on a one on one basis, as was the case during the times of Moses. As such, the society must develop effective ways that will enhance the spiritual growth of the people thus intensifying their relationship with omnipresent yet invisible God (Callier 55). In order to achieve this, people interact with each other in appropriate platforms as they teach each other the requirements of the faith. Intense interactions with each other manifest the presence of God thereby underscoring the need for peaceful coexistence through upholding specific values. As people intensify their interactions with each other, they realize the need for peaceful coexistence besides the passive role that God plays in the creation and sustenance of the society. This way, humans foster peace while nourishing their faith by interacting with each other (Caputo and Scanlon 67). In a summary, Emmanuel Levinas’s belief in Judaism influences his philosophical beliefs. As he develops most of his philosophies, Levinas appreciate the role of religious faiths in the development of social values and virtues. This way, he develops philosophical literatures that appreciate the role of God in the development of peaceful societies besides fostering the growth in human knowledge. Works cited Callier, Bernadette. "Totality and Infinity, Alterity, and Relation: From Levinas to Glissant." Journal of Francophone Philosophy, 19(1), 2011. Print. Caputo, J. D., & Scanlon, M. J. (Eds.). (1999). God, the Gift, and Postmodernism. Indiana University Press. Cohen, J. (2005). Interrupting Auschwitz: Art, Religion, Philosophy. Continuum International Publishing Group. Cohen, R. A. (Ed.). (1986). Face to Face with Levinas. Suny Press. Critchley, S., & Bernasconi, R. (Eds.). (2002). The Cambridge Companion to Levinas. Cambridge University Press. Davidson, Scott, and Diane Perpich. "Totality and Infinity at 50". Duquesne University Press, 2012. Print. Davis, C. (1996). Levinas an Introduction, University of Notre Dame Press. Derrida, Jacques. "Violence and Metaphysics: Violence and Metaphysics: An Essay on the Thought of Emmanuel Levinas," in Writing and Difference. Katz, C. E. Levinas, Judaism, and the Feminine: The Silent Footsteps of Rebecca. New York: OUP, 2003. Print. Emmanuel Levinas. Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority Morgan, M. L. The Cambridge Introduction to Emmanuel Levinas. Cambridge University Press, 2011. Print. Read More