Levinas: The Right To Be (English Subtitles)

"The Right to Be", section two of "Penser Aujourd'hui: Emmanuel Levinas" (1991).

Levinas discusses the idea that the "perseverance of Being" is the source of all evil and suffering. For Levinas, such perseverance is not to be understood in terms of the individual's right to be, but rather in relation to a perceived right to violence and excess. Levinas also discusses the Biblical Genesis story. In this account, evil, as the immoderate or excessive aspiration of man towards Being, is absent. Evil is subsequent to the Creation, which was "good"; evil is therefore of a secondary nature to the good and, Levinas claims, is solely manifested in relation to man.

Thanks again to Salmon Philippe [youtube user "salmonfishandships"] for assitance with the translation.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Emmanuel
• Levinas
• Interview
• English
• Subtitles
• Right
• to
• Be

[roryscanlon]

Well then its not being which is evil but man's misplaced desires. This is just provocative rhetoric: "being is evil". Come now!

[CaptainBluebear08]

Discover the Other in the Face...of the Palestinian, for instance and in particular. I'd say.

[BoStevoD]

Considering now that we've become a geological feature of this planet, maybe we should finally be taking seriously the possibilities of playing like God.

[BoStevoD]

While I like Levinas, I also have to disagree with him. I don't see any "good" nature to which we might return. We aspire towards Being, the ultimate insult to God's creation, thinking ourselves so worthy as to ask for more than what God has given. But we are worthy sometimes. We do deserve a better world. And God gave us the vision for that world when he died on the cross, trusting us to carry on the ghost of his creative capacities.