So I have finally finished reading Otherwise Than Being, a postmodern philosophical work by Jewish author Emmanual Levinas. It is most definitely the hardest read I've ever undertaken. I hope to provide a more thorough summary of the work in a later post (or maybe I should say "summaries"), but it should suffice at this point to say that what Levinas is fighting for is a view of the world and of oneself (being/essence) that does not leave the Other or the neighbor merely as an afterthought. In other words, rather than developing our understanding of ourselves in relation to our cognitive ability to think (contra Descartes, "I think, therefore I am") we ought to consider our existence within the context of the Other, as oneself-for-the-other, i.e. - my life has little meaning unless its connected to those around me and lived for those around me. Our bodily existence is not a machine (as Descartes said) and our relations with others cannot be reduced to a list of rules that we implement as a computer processes information. Rather, life requires decision-making, balancing and weighing various ethical issues, and making particular choices within unique moments. And in our finitude, we will never have ALL the information and all the objective certainty to know we will make the absolutely perfect decision in an ethical situation. And so, our decision must be based on love, on care for the Other. Thus, Levinas states, philosophy (philo=love, sophia=wisdom) is not so much "the love of wisdom but the wisdom of love." Levinas writes:“The neighbor concerns me before all assumption, all commitment consented to or refused… I am bound to him before any liaison contracted. He orders me before being recognized. Here there is a relationship of kinship outside of all biology, “against all logic.” It is not because the neighbor would be recognized as belonging to he same genus as me that he concerns me. He is precisely other. The community with him begins in my obligation to him. The neighbor is a brother… In a sense nothing is more burdensome than a neighbor. Is not this desired one the undesirable itself? The neighbor who could not leave me indifferent, the undesirable desired one, has not revealed to desire the ways of access to him… To take hold of oneself for a present of welcome is already to take one’s distance, and miss the neighbor.” (87-88).
Again, more could be said, and hopefully, in another post I'll do more justice to the book. However, I wanted to share a poem (now put to music as of today) that I was inspired to write. Unlike most of my music, this came to me all in a matter of moments and I had it all together in finished form (with music) in just three days. I call it "Across the Street," but perhaps it should have a subheading stating "in honor of Emmanuel Levinas" as I believe it communicates at least one of the main facets of his philosophical work.
Again, more could be said, and hopefully, in another post I'll do more justice to the book. However, I wanted to share a poem (now put to music as of today) that I was inspired to write. Unlike most of my music, this came to me all in a matter of moments and I had it all together in finished form (with music) in just three days. I call it "Across the Street," but perhaps it should have a subheading stating "in honor of Emmanuel Levinas" as I believe it communicates at least one of the main facets of his philosophical work.
There you are traversing // Across the room you walk
Hiding behind the draperies // And on the phone you talk
I ponder if we’ll ever meet,
My neighbor across the street
Moonlight shines above the Burgh // Down here the TV glows
Living room lights caress the curbs // Mixing where traffic flows
A likely place where I might greet
The neighbor across the street
We go about our separate lives // Making calls, getting the mail
Dressing our selves, leaving the drive // It goes by fast, ever so frail
Could we pause, take time for tea
My dear neighbor across the street?
What if you were aching? // What if I heard you scream?
Would I keep channel surfing // With eyes glued to the screen?
It wouldn’t hurt to get off my seat
And make a stroll across the street
We go about our separate lives // Making calls, getting the mail
Dressing our selves, leaving the drive // It goes by fast, ever so frail
Could we pause, take time for tea
My dear neighbor across the street?
We may pass while on a walk // While you’re out for a jog
Or maybe I could bravely knock // And step out of this fog
Love is calling out to me // To see the neighbor across the street
I’m hostage ‘til he sets me free // The neighbor across the street
Hiding behind the draperies // And on the phone you talk
I ponder if we’ll ever meet,
My neighbor across the street
Moonlight shines above the Burgh // Down here the TV glows
Living room lights caress the curbs // Mixing where traffic flows
A likely place where I might greet
The neighbor across the street
We go about our separate lives // Making calls, getting the mail
Dressing our selves, leaving the drive // It goes by fast, ever so frail
Could we pause, take time for tea
My dear neighbor across the street?
What if you were aching? // What if I heard you scream?
Would I keep channel surfing // With eyes glued to the screen?
It wouldn’t hurt to get off my seat
And make a stroll across the street
We go about our separate lives // Making calls, getting the mail
Dressing our selves, leaving the drive // It goes by fast, ever so frail
Could we pause, take time for tea
My dear neighbor across the street?
We may pass while on a walk // While you’re out for a jog
Or maybe I could bravely knock // And step out of this fog
Love is calling out to me // To see the neighbor across the street
I’m hostage ‘til he sets me free // The neighbor across the street
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