The Grey Zone of Subjectivity. Phenomenology of the feminine body in Emmanuel Lévinas's thought Cover Image

The Grey Zone of Subjectivity. Phenomenology of the feminine body in Emmanuel Lévinas's thought
The Grey Zone of Subjectivity. Phenomenology of the feminine body in Emmanuel Lévinas's thought

Author(s): Marzena Adamiak
Subject(s): Philosophy
Published by: Ośrodek Badań Filozoficznych
Keywords: ontology; subject; femininity; woman; other

Summary/Abstract: The concept of a "woman figure" by Emmanuel Lévinas, is an example, in which the notions of "masculinity" and "femininity" serve to determine the character of a certain proposition of a Subject. Lévinas introduced sexual characteristics into the neutral subject, yet he is incon-sistent in his treatment of the idea of a Woman and, moreover, he assigned subjectivity to a single gender: the masculine. Nonetheless, the criticism of Lévinas’s model of femininity from a feminist viewpoint is neither simple nor clear. Lévinas continually evades such criticism. He re-established the body and sensuality as key aspects of meeting with the Other. And also, he criticizes the Western ontological tradition as a theoretical source of violence against the Other, since – as he claims – on a high level of abstraction it appears that thematisation itself is a violence. At the same time, Lévinas proposes ontology of a "woman". In relation to this, one needs to ask the question: why does Lévinas, whilst stating the need to be freed from ontology, at the same time create an ontological woman? And additionally, what are the philo-sophical and ethical consequences of the phenomenology of femininity that are presented by Lévinas?

  • Issue Year: 2015
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 81-104
  • Page Count: 24
  • Language: English