Totality and Infinity: An Essay on Exteriority

Rating:
Summary: Beyond Being
Review: A very difficult and interesting work. Levinas' prose is complex and often seemingly contradictory. Why is this so? Levinas struggles with a language that very often glosses over the radical alterity of the other. Traditionally, western philosophy has relegated all beings to Being, the stuff from which all things, or beings, spring. Levinas wants to suggest that in doing so, western philosophy has ignored the complex and often difficult relationships that exist between individuals. Specifically, Levinas addresses the ontology of Martin Heidegger which reduces the other's importance by giving priority to Being, or Totality. The other, however, points beyond Being and towards infinity. The idea of the infinite is drawn from Descartes' third meditation in which he describes this fundamental idea that we all have. Levinas carries on this line of thought by emphasizing the other that shatters the supposed totality of Being and consequently creates an necessarily ethical relationship. Wonderfully, Levinas' work acts as an other that continually challenges the reader as do the relationships in everyday life.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond Being
Review: A very difficult and interesting work. Levinas' prose is complex and often seemingly contradictory. Why is this so? Levinas struggles with a language that very often glosses over the radical alterity of the other. Traditionally, western philosophy has relegated all beings to Being, the stuff from which all things, or beings, spring. Levinas wants to suggest that in doing so, western philosophy has ignored the complex and often difficult relationships that exist between individuals. Specifically, Levinas addresses the ontology of Martin Heidegger which reduces the other's importance by giving priority to Being, or Totality. The other, however, points beyond Being and towards infinity. The idea of the infinite is drawn from Descartes' third meditation in which he describes this fundamental idea that we all have. Levinas carries on this line of thought by emphasizing the other that shatters the supposed totality of Being and consequently creates an necessarily ethical relationship. Wonderfully, Levinas' work acts as an other that continually challenges the reader as do the relationships in everyday life.

Rating:
Summary: deconstructing Levinas
Review: Here is a summary of the argument contained in this book:

Levinas is trying to uncover the source of the idea of infinity, which he decides cannot come from "totality" and must come from something that cannot be "totalized." He decides that it must come from the face to face relation with the Other, since neither the Other nor the face to face relation can be totalized. Then he proceeds to "show" that the face to face relation with the Other is the source for our capacity to have theoretical and practical knowledge. Oh yeah, the Other is a man, because the feminine other is not Other enough for Levinas, and romantic love is bad. Essentially, what he does is fuse Husserl and Heidegger's theories, to an extent, and replaces the transcendental ego of Husserl with the face to face relation with the Other.

Yeah, forgive me if I don't think this guy is as profound as the other reviewers. And Levinas is not having problems getting his point across because of the "ontological" nature of the language he is using (an explanation that came from Derrida, not Levinas nor the other reviewers). Levinas is just intentionally writing obscurely, perhaps because he realizes how silly his whole enterprise is and how much modernism is contained within it (still trying to find the condition for experience itself, did someone say German Idealism?).

Rating:
Summary: An absolutely necessary read
Review: This books demands the attention of us all, at every moment, and is a quiet masterpiece in recent continental thought. A work which Derrida has commented on, and built on so much in his earlier and later (affirmative) deconstrucion. This book is not simply a treatise on ethics, but one on metaphysics, logic, philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind, aesthetics, epistemology and indeed every thinkable area of ontological, onto-theological work that one can imagine. A treatise that makes us dramtically rethink everyone of these areas and so much more. Levinas will, in time, no doubt become regarded as one of the greats in the history of philosophy.

Rating:
Summary: difficult - so important
Review: Yeah, this is hard to read. Yes, it is worth it. Levinas stands tall in a tradition that embraces the flux and rejects the totalizing tendencies of modernity. Totality and Infinity was a powerful influence on Derrida, can be seen as a parrallel to Heidegger's Essay Concerning the Question of Technology, and certainly repesents a powerful attempt at post-metaphysical ethics.
Levinas points out the egology, the self and family centered closedness that does violence on many scales. In a time when there seems to be unconditional heralding of freedom, Levinas points out the violence of freedom and encourages responsibility. Regardless of how effective one finds his arguments, I think the attitude and way of being Levinas is describing is one that would make life much fuller and less driven by inertia and ignorence.
Infinitely important (pun), highly recommended.