The welcoming of Levinas in the philosophy of education – at the cost of the Other?

Abstract

This article focuses on the turn towards the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas's (1906Levinas's ( -1995 ethical perspective in educational philosophy, which many theorists promise can promote an educational practice that is more sensitive of the diversity of teaching and learning, and the uniqueness of students and teachers. I call this into question by asking for whom is the Levinasian ethics for the better? In the article I discuss this question in the light of Levinas's insistence on the deposition of the autonomous and knowing subject, and his embracing of a subject who is always already for the Other and who welcomes the Other before any assessments of the Other and of his own capabilities of being responsible for the Other.The article is divided into two parts. The first part explores what has been welcomed in the welcoming of Levinas through a critical reading of some educational philosophical publications on Levinas's ethics. I argue that Levinas's idea of welcoming the Other in many cases has been displaced to a welcoming of Levinas. This shift appears to have created a reception context where Levinas's uncritical approach to the Other has been transferred to an uncritical approach to Levinas's ethics. Thus, it seems as if this lack of critical commentators has caused a lack of attention to other subjects and other Others whom Levinas does not see. The second part focuses on possible costs of the welcoming of Levinas for these other subjects and other Others. The discussion adopts a stance inspired by semiotics and French psychoanalysis.

Being present with the patient—A critical investigation of bodily sensitivity and presence in the field of physiotherapy

“…Rather, our argument, based on, among others Fuchs (2016) and Merleau-Ponty (1962, as well as our own experiences, we encourage physiotherapists to practice both being present and thinking critically about theories of the body in order to recognize how they can be applied in a variety of reallife situation. Nordtug (2013) made this point succinctly: "We must not ignore that knowledge can help us to see what we take for granted in the relation to the student. Thus knowledge can offer an opportunity to hear what is Other in the student's call when she is addressing us.…”

“…Adopting a phenomenological perspective does not mean that therapists should abandon general knowledge as a resource in work with the patients. We recognize, however, that it can be challenging to keep ourselves flexible enough to combine part of general knowledge or its entire framework with the concept of bodily resonance and mutual incorporation with the patient (Nordtug, 2013). Thus, in our final section, we will explore the interesting and complex relationship between the experienced body and the language.…”

«DU SKAL IKKE MOBBE». En psykoanalytisk revolusjon i tilnærmingen til mobbing?

“…Denne kampen kan også utspille seg i godhetens navn i hjelperelasjoner. Hjelperen kan komme til å forsterke den mobbedes posisjon som den som er etter den Ene, ved at den mobbede posisjoneres til å vaere den som anerkjenner hjelperen som enestående (Nordtug, 2013). Å vaere etter den Ene er en posisjon som den mobbede er vant til å stå i, og derfor lett gjenkjenner og tar, så lenge hjelperens delte subjekt forvises til underteksten.…”

“…Bauman, 1993, s. 61). Sistnevnte argument gjenfinnes i Levinas-inspirerte analyser av laererens ansvar for eleven som den Andre (Nordtug, 2013). Analytikeren hos Lacan hviler i kunnskap (S 2 ), kan man kanskje si.…”

Ethics Responsibility Dialogue The Meaning of Dialogue in Lévinas's Philosophy

“…That is to say, by means of the knowledge of their own hardships they are able to understand the troubles of the Other. His main act is one of understanding and assimilation into his own conceptual world—what Lévinas calls ‘le même’, or ‘the same’ (Chinnery, ; Dolson, ; Dykeman, ; Levy, ; Ming, ; Nordtug, ; Ortega, ).…”