On Levinas preface. Thanks a lot. This is great. Levinas is remaking me in a way unlike other philosophers. Once you understand him, I do not see how you can be the same, think the same, or go back to another alternative. Thanks again . all your lectures are great.
thanks! great videos. I always thought that the Psychology test called the "Sally-Anne Test" plays in very nicely with Levinas' idea of ethics as first philosophy.
The other is radically "not me" - she is an absolute other. The other and the me do not form a totality. Nevertheless, the other appears only because I appear, and I appear only because the other appears - but this is not reducing the other to the self- same. This fact arises from infinity, not psychology or being. It invites us into the "nearness" - the "welcome", the "sociality". It is not me welcoming - the welcome, the nearness, the sociality are instructed by infinity. Seing the face of the other brings up infinity. His book "Otherwise than being" is the book to read, as it was written to answer Derrida's critique of "Totality and Infinity". We are both free (Sartre) and "hostage" (of love- election).
I'm so glad youtube gives us the option to speed up the videos. This guy talks so damn slow - put the video at 1.5 speed, and it goes beautifully! I can learn this philosophy without 5 minutes feeling like it's taking an hour.
I think that you have some subjective time distortion. He does not, whatsoever, talk slow. I can only imagine that if you *actually* came into contact with a slow speaker, you would probably shrink into an agony so unbearable! Many philosophers leave ... large, long .. pauses ... between their words ... because so much Thought ... is taking place .... and you need ... the SPACE ... in which .. the TIME .. can sink in ... because its IN TIME ... you find Yourself.
To some he does seem to speak slowly, thats nothing against him just different cultural norms when it comes to speech patterns. For example im from New Zealand and when we hear americans speak it often feels incredibly drawn out as though every syllable is pronounced separate from every other. Im exaggerating slightly but the point remains, conversely when Ive spoken to americans they tend to have difficulty keeping track of the conversation - again not because theyre 'slow' or unintelligent just that theyre not used to our faster speech pattern.
