Hughes, Peter Wyn (1990) On the way to madness: the path from "Totality and infinity" to "Otherwise than being or beyond essence" in the thought of Emmanuel Levinas. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The work of Emmanuel Levinas is an enigma: he is certain that I am responsible before the Other, that I owe the fact of my existence to his generosity. He becomes equally certain that I am mad. It is the contention of this thesis that the conflicting word chains through which Levinas' philosophy is articulated are the symptom of a struggle between the Kantian roots of his ethical commitments and the forces of `the anonymous'. It is an appreciation of the centrality of this latter category to his philosophical development, and its pathological ancestor in the Critique of Practical Reason, that enables us to understand why the dutiful domesticity of Totality and Infinity had to become the superlative psychosis of Otherwise than Being or Beyond Essence.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Alternative Title:	The path from "Totality and infinity" to "Otherwise than being or beyond essence" in the thought of Emmanuel Levinas
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BD Speculative Philosophy
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Lévinas, Emmanuel. Critique of practical reason, Lévinas, Emmanuel. Totalité et infini, Lévinas, Emmanuel. Autrement qu'être, Ethics -- Research, Other (Philosophy)
Date:	February 1990
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Philosophy
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Land, Nick, 1962-
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	340 leaves
Language:	eng
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/2826

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