It is my contention that we – in our time – do have an answer to the question: hidden at the very core of the web of different perspectives, lies the central insight that – in my words – death...Show moreIt is my contention that we – in our time – do have an answer to the question: hidden at the very core of the web of different perspectives, lies the central insight that – in my words – death reveals the meaning of existence. This is the thesis I will put forth over the course of this investigation, based on a discussion of three major perspectives on the relation between death and meaning. The thesis is centered around the verb revealing, interpreted in three different ways, allowing me to synthesize the different perspectives into one central claim whilst respecting their differences. The claim that death reveals the meaning of existence comes down to the attempt to think the paradox of death. As such, my main objective is to show that death must be thought in its ambiguity. Death’s ambiguity will turn out to be the common ground underlying all perspectives I will discuss; it is the space where death is revealed in its relation to the meaning of existence. As such, the claim that death reveals the meaning of existence will itself prove to be an equivocal statement.Show less
In this paper I explore the ethical relation of a psychiatrist with a patient. How can a psychiatrist do justice to a patient who, as an individual human being, asks for his help? Referring to...Show moreIn this paper I explore the ethical relation of a psychiatrist with a patient. How can a psychiatrist do justice to a patient who, as an individual human being, asks for his help? Referring to Levinas’ philosophy of ethics I claim that diagnostic-psychiatrists fail to acknowledge the singularity of the patient. Recovery-psychiatrists seem to act in line with Levinas’ philosophy of ethics with his focus on singularity. However, analyzing the relation of the psychiatrist and the patient using Derrida’s philosophy of hospitality, I conclude that the recovery-psychiatrist has to accept that, while aspiring a moral relationship with the patient, is bound to use his medical knowledge as well. Knowledge that has to be evaluated constantly in the light of the appeal to do justice to alterity.Show less
Getekend door de oorlog zoekt ook Levinas naar antwoorden op vragen over haar natuur; hoe is het mogelijk dat oorlog bestaat en blijft terugkomen? Omdat de ervaring van de ander in zijn ogen het...Show moreGetekend door de oorlog zoekt ook Levinas naar antwoorden op vragen over haar natuur; hoe is het mogelijk dat oorlog bestaat en blijft terugkomen? Omdat de ervaring van de ander in zijn ogen het grondprincipe is volgt al het andere uit deze ervaring - en dus ook oorlog. Echter, volgens dit gedachtengoed zou de ervaring van de ander mij juist uit mijn egocentrische houding moeten halen en tot altruïsme moeten dwingen, tot het bezorgen van vrede. Dit probleem is waar deze scriptie uit ontspringt. Ik ga op zoek naar de relatie tussen oorlog en vrede in Levinas’ denken. Mijn antwoord op deze vraag, en hoofdstelling van deze scriptie luidt: De ontmoeting met de ander is de vreedzame onderbreking van de onophoudelijke oorlog.Show less
Alhoewel Levinas niet volledig doof was voor het pleidooi van dieren schrijft Levinas opvallend weinig over dieren. Voor een denker met zo veel aandacht voor de Ander, lijkt het bizar dat dieren...Show moreAlhoewel Levinas niet volledig doof was voor het pleidooi van dieren schrijft Levinas opvallend weinig over dieren. Voor een denker met zo veel aandacht voor de Ander, lijkt het bizar dat dieren die met ons, voor ons en na ons leven zo weinig aandacht van Levinas ontvangen. Waar Levinas wel aandacht besteedt aan ideeën over dieren lijkt Levinas tegenstrijdige standpunten in te nemen omtrent het verschil tussen mensen en dieren. Waar Levinas namelijk stelt dat dieren fundamenteel verschillen van mensen, maakt hij tegelijkertijd toespelingen op feiten die dit fundamentele verschil doen wankelen. Ik zal mij in dit essay dan ook richten op de discrepantie tussen Levinas’ opvattingen over dieren en Levinas’ filosofie door me te richten op de positie van dieren in de filosofie van Levinas. Ik zal beargumenteren dat Levinas een a priori onderscheid maakt tussen mensen en dieren, iets wat tegen zijn filosofie indruist.Show less
This thesis compares the ethics and phenomenology of Nietzsche and Levinas. It begins from a Levinasian critique of Nietzsche, made up of remarks Levinas made on Nietzsche's thought throughout his...Show moreThis thesis compares the ethics and phenomenology of Nietzsche and Levinas. It begins from a Levinasian critique of Nietzsche, made up of remarks Levinas made on Nietzsche's thought throughout his career. This critique is then systematized, before being rebutted by a Nietzschean response, focusing on the question of responsibility. The thesis argues that insofar as there is a disagreement between Nietzsche and Levinas, it is fundamentally a phenomenological disagreement.Show less
Can the historical event of the Holocaust be thought of philosophically through and in the works of Emmanuel Levinas? Since Levinas’s ethical philosophy has often been understood as a general...Show moreCan the historical event of the Holocaust be thought of philosophically through and in the works of Emmanuel Levinas? Since Levinas’s ethical philosophy has often been understood as a general response to the historical event of the Holocaust, philosophy and history seem to meet in Levinas’s later philosophical works. This thesis questions the way in which the historicity of the Holocaust can be understood in Levinas’s philosophical work. In this research, the notion of 'respect' will appear to be crucial. Ultimately, I aim to answer the question as to whether, and if so, to what extent, Levinas's insistently nonhistoricist philosophical approach to the Holocaust can really respect the Holocaust and its victims as such, that is, in their historicity.Show less
The influential relationship between the two twentieth century philosophers Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida has profoundly challenged the way we perceive philosophy’s responsibility toward the...Show moreThe influential relationship between the two twentieth century philosophers Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida has profoundly challenged the way we perceive philosophy’s responsibility toward the other. While these philosophers in an ongoing exchange broach the question of the other’s response, there remains the question if the other can also respond to what they say. Challenging the attainability of “successful” dialogue, this thesis examines the limits of thinking the response of the other philosophically. It does this through an innovative reading of “At This Very Moment in This Work Here I Am,” a remarkable text by Derrida in which he examines what it means to write a response to the works of Levinas. It shows how such a response, in view of what Levinas writes, must necessarily fail. My reading of this text shows that we must nevertheless embrace the possibility of failure, even if it means putting Levinas’s entire work at risk, since the very finitude of my own response is also what allows the other to come in and respond. Seen this way, I propose that a reading specifically aimed at the “failures” at work in Derrida’s response to Levinas can be a viable strategy not only to arrive at a better understanding of this text, but also to come up with responses of our own.Show less
Vocalisation is formed in the inversion of the face, up until it reaches the face it is a sound akin to blowing through a blade of grass, it has pitch and intensity but little shape. The shape of...Show moreVocalisation is formed in the inversion of the face, up until it reaches the face it is a sound akin to blowing through a blade of grass, it has pitch and intensity but little shape. The shape of vocalisation is formed in the "mask", the resonant chamber at the front of the head, the inverted face. Thereby, vocalisation is the sonic manifestation of the shape of the face outside of the body. This creates an ambiguity as to the directionality of the face, in that, when someone vocalises visibly towards me, I cannot be sure which way the face, sonically captured in vocalization, is facing. It’s unclear if the other is just talking to themself or to me or are half in half out or are rotating. The chord of vocalisation, the fact that each and every vocalisation is heard/felt as sound in the face and the face captured in sonic form outside of the body simultaneously, suggests that the interaction may be a Narcissus' story, where the face is more often or than not reflected back towards the self. This thesis is supported further if we think about vocalisation as a form of self-pleasure, in the erotic experience of forming vocals and the enjoyment of hearing one's own voice, reflected in the story of Echo. This seems to point towards a social failure or at least ambiguity of the interaction between self and other, if the self is always talking to the self. The experience further still, starts to feel violent when we de-mute or make sonic vocalisation, rarely done in a philosophy of voice. Incorporating sound's intrusive quality on the body into this intersubjective interaction points towards a violent potentiality. The intrusion of the sound of the other on my soundscape, my extended body, is the sonic extension of the body of the other in vocalisation, commanding a piece of my hearing territory, thereby penetrating my body. The problem is that I cannot avoid this because that bodily intrusion has a face attached. In reference to Levinas’ ethics of the face, I am forced to partake in these socially unfulfilling interactions out of a sense of duty to the other's face. To not acknowledge the face in response, even though that inevitable involves an intrusion, is also to estrange the other. Hence, I agree to maintain these interactions in a conduct of consensual violence. The ambiguity of vocal presence leads to a situation where it is violent not to be violent, in my vocal intrusion upon the other.Show less
This thesis examines the differences between Camus and Levinas on the topic of interaction with the Other, and what these differences ultimately mean for their philosophies from the focal question...Show moreThis thesis examines the differences between Camus and Levinas on the topic of interaction with the Other, and what these differences ultimately mean for their philosophies from the focal question of ‘how can we interact with the Other?’. My claim is that the symmetry in Camus’ understanding of the relationship with the Other results in an interaction which allows for the creation of meaning between the subject and Other that Levinas does not leave room for. I first do a basic comparison of their philosophies, then detail the use of the term ‘transcendence’ in order to establish a ground upon which the comparison between them can be made, since their approaches and terminology are quite different. I then lean on Derrida to criticize Levinas’ concept of Otherness, and end by discussing how Camus evades these pitfalls by having a concept of the Other which allows for a symmetrical relationship.Show less
De kwaliteit van de therapeutische relatie in psychotherapie, de persoonlijke band tussen de therapeut en de patiënt, blijkt erg bepalend voor het behandelresultaat. Dit wordt in de regel...Show moreDe kwaliteit van de therapeutische relatie in psychotherapie, de persoonlijke band tussen de therapeut en de patiënt, blijkt erg bepalend voor het behandelresultaat. Dit wordt in de regel onderscheiden van technieken, als zijnde alle manieren waarop klachten, gedragingen en herstel begrepen worden en al de interventies die hieruit volgen. Deze scriptie beschrijft drie benaderingen die de kracht van de relatie in onderscheid van technieken pogen te verklaren, vanuit de stellingname dat het belang van de relatie relevant is voor de verantwoordelijkheid die de therapeut ten overstaan van de patiënt heeft. Door gebruik te maken van verschillende plaatsen die door filosofen aan de ethiek zijn toegekend, worden verschillende mogelijkheden zichtbaar. De faciliterende relatie, ten eerste, leert dat de kracht van de relatie gelegen is in haar ondersteuning van de technieken. De atechnische relatie, ten tweede, stoelt op Bubers begrip van de ethische tussenruimte en beschrijft de relatie op haar krachtigst wanneer technieken slechts een geminimaliseerde rol spelen. De asymmetrische relatie, ten slotte, stoelt op Levinas’ begrip van de ethiek als eerste filosofie en leert dat de confrontatie met een ander oproept tot verantwoordelijkheid en dat dit (in beide richtingen) de kracht van de therapeutische relatie verklaren kan. Deze laatste benadering wordt als de meest plausibele verklaring voorgesteld. Deze benadering onderstreept de waarde van een kwetsbare betrokkenheid van de psychotherapeut op het therapeutisch proces.Show less
The MA-thesis “Het Goede, de goedheid en het getuigenis” (“The Good, goodness and the witness”) investigates the relation between the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas and Vasili Grossman’s novel,...Show moreThe MA-thesis “Het Goede, de goedheid en het getuigenis” (“The Good, goodness and the witness”) investigates the relation between the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas and Vasili Grossman’s novel, Life and Fate. It includes an overview of Levinas’ published thoughts concerning the novel, the relationship between his philosophy and literature, and an interpretation of Levinas’ philosophical position centred on the concept of goodness. The relation between Levinas and Grossman is sought in an ethical position that relies on the an-archical goodness of the individual towards the other, rather than on an ideological interpretation of the absolute Good.Show less
Voor Heidegger en Levinas is de sterfelijkheid een wezenlijk kenmerk van het menselijk leven. Het nadenken over de eigen dood biedt de mens volgens beide denkers belangrijke inzichten in het...Show moreVoor Heidegger en Levinas is de sterfelijkheid een wezenlijk kenmerk van het menselijk leven. Het nadenken over de eigen dood biedt de mens volgens beide denkers belangrijke inzichten in het bestaan. Bewustwording van het gegeven dat de mens gaat sterven, is volgens hen cruciaal om de waarde van het leven te beseffen. Bovendien menen beiden dat de dood doorleefd kan worden, door dit fenomeen naast biologisch, ook ontologisch en metafysisch te interpreteren. Op deze manieren begrepen, is de doodsbeleving bij zowel Heidegger als Levinas een levensvernieuwende gebeurtenis. Over de precieze betekenis van het fenomeen van de sterfelijkheid en wat de dood ons leert over het leven zijn ze het echter volledig oneens. Levinas’ ideeën over het wezen van de mens en de invulling van het goede leven verschillen sterk van die van Heidegger. Ze zijn een fundamentele kritiek op Heideggers ontologische filosofie in Sein und Zeit. Dit onderzoekt maakt aannemelijk dat deze kritiek op Heideggers denken samenkomt in Levinas’ alternatieve doodsanalyse. Het nieuwe inzicht dat deze zienswijze oplevert, is een verheldering van Levinas’ kritiek op Heidegger via de fenomenologie van de dood.Show less
