Many if not all of Levinas’ distinctions can be
subsumed under the headings of “totality” and “infinity”. These headings represent an inner dichotomy,
or split, in how we relate to the world and our fellow man, the Other. Much of civilization is founded on our
ability to totalize. Physics, chemistry,
biology, political science, economics, all rely on man’s ability to make order
out of chaos—to bring everything into a lawful system. Every discipline defines the boundaries and
scope of its purview—by defining the limits we gain the ability to know and
control. Yet,
somehow, we always feel a
separation, a gap, a rift, a rupture, never a feeling of completeness, harmony,
perfect unity, communion—never a feeling of “totality”, rather always a feeling
of “infinity”—of desires that are infinite, questions that always open out
endlessly, yearnings that are never quenched. (Veling, 1999, p. 278)
The infinite is ever present and lies at the
edges of our consciousness. Levinas aims
to return infinity to its rightful place at the forefront of our
consciousness—to let it form the basis of society and not be just an
afterthought.
References
Veling, T. A. (1999). In the name of Who?: Levinas and
the other side of theology. Pacifica, 275 292.
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