Levinas

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A prominent philosopher known for his work on ethics and responsibility, particularly in relation to the Other
2. An influential thinker who sought to explore the nature of human relationships through the lens of existentialism and phenomenology
3. A key figure in contemporary philosophy, particularly in the discussion of alterity and its implications for ethics and social theory

Etymology: The surname "Levinas" most likely comes from "Levi," the Hebrew name of the tribe of Levi, which in Jewish tradition supplied priests. Many Jewish families in Eastern Europe took surnames built on such names, and the ending "-as" is a common Lithuanian masculine suffix, so the name probably reflects a Lithuanian-Jewish form of "Levi." Emmanuel Levinas was born in Kaunas, in what is now Lithuania, into a Jewish family. He later became a French citizen and wrote his major philosophical works in French, so the name he carried was rooted in Eastern European Jewish naming while his philosophy developed in a French intellectual setting. Levinas is known for placing ethics before ontology. He argued that the face of another person makes an unconditional demand on us, and that this encounter, rather than abstract reasoning about being, is where moral responsibility begins.