Jean Paul Sartre hailed him as the philosopher who introduced France to Husserl and Heidegger. Derrida has paid him homage as "master." An original philosopher who combines the insights of phenomenological analysis with those of Jewish spirituality, Emmanuel Levinas has proven to be of extraordinary importance in the history of modern thought. Collecting Levinas's important writings on religion, Difficult Freedom contributes to a growing debate about the significance of religion -- particularly Judaism and Jewish spiritualism -- in European philosophy. Topics include ethics, aesthetics, politics, messianism, Judaism and women, and Jewish-Christian relations, as well as the work of Spinoza, Hegel, Heidegger, Franz Rosenzweig, Simone Weil, and Jules Issac.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Levinas attitude to Judaism:
Emmanuel Levinas came from an orthodox Lithuanian background but left for France in the 1930' to study with Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger in Germany. In time he developed his ethical theory of "The Other" for which Levinas is famous today. He remained an observant Jew all his life but seperated strictly his involvement in the Jewish community with his academic life as professor of philosophy at the Sorbonne. He even published his "Jewish" books with a different publisher than his "philosophical"... more info
A collection highly memorable and engaging:
Emmanuel Levinas takes Jewish thought to new levels, adding very new, yet very ancient ways of thinking into his works. He has several highly recognized works in the philosphy world- "Time and the Other", amd "Existence and Existents", but his works that build directly off of Jewish thought (such as this one) are my favorites. He manages to cut through the shell of everything and shed a beautiful yet heavy light on life.... I think it would be more fitting to put a Levinas quotes from Difficult Freedom in... more info
difficult to read, perhaps, but will open up new worlds!:
Several essays on Jewish issues and a brief and quirky, incomplete autobiography of Levinas, perhaps the finest thinker in post-modern Jewish philosophy. In this little volume are commentaries on Biblical and talmudic material, thoughts about current philosophical trends, what it means to be a Jew in the modern and post-holocaust world by a thoughtful survivor, and his unique wordplay. This book will shake your assumptions to their foundations. Never a casual read, but amazing to study.
