Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1969
314
Book • Nonfiction
1960s
1969
Adult
18+ years
In Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority, Emmanuel Levinas explores the ethics of human relationships by emphasizing the primacy of encounters with others. He argues for an ethical philosophy that prioritizes face-to-face interactions, viewing them as central to understanding the infinite and transcendent aspects of human existence beyond totalizing systems or concepts.
Contemplative
Mysterious
Challenging
Informative
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Emmanuel Levinas's Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority is celebrated for its profound exploration of ethics as a philosophy of responsibility and the face-to-face encounter. The complex, dense prose is challenging but rewards dedicated readers. Some critique its abstract style as inaccessible. Nonetheless, it's a significant philosophical work on the nature of human relations.
Philosophy enthusiasts drawn to existentialism and ethics, particularly those engaged with ideas from Heidegger or Sartre, will enjoy Totality and Infinity. Readers of Buber's I and Thou or Levinas’s later works seeking profound exploration of human relationships and ethics may find it equally compelling.
1,870 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
314
Book • Nonfiction
1960s
1969
Adult
18+ years
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