A Philosopher in the Eye of the Storm: Monsieur Chouchani and Lévinas's "Nameless" Essay. Issue 2 (21st November 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ben-Pazi, Hanoch
• Is Part Of: AJS review. Volume 41:Issue 2(2017)
• Page Start: 315
• Page End: 331
• Publication Date: 2017-11-21
• Subjects: Jews -- History -- Periodicals; Judaism -- History -- Periodicals; 296.05
• DOI: 10.1017/S036400941700040X
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0364-0094

Abstract

Abstract : This article considers the role of the individual during crises in humanism and the ethical responsibility with which the individual is charged in such times of moral calamity. In a narrow sense, the article explores Emmanuel Lévinas's "Nameless" ("Sans nom"), an essay that appears in his book Proper Names, and proposes viewing it as his personal reading in honor of his unique, unaccounted-for teacher Monsieur Chouchani. From a broader philosophical perspective, the article attempts to consider the meaning of ethics and the assumption of responsibility in times when doing so appears to offer no benefit and hold no significance whatsoever. From an educational perspective, it endeavors to better understand the ethical role of the teacher in both tranquil and tempestuous times. And finally, it also offers another profound observation of what Lévinas's article refers to as the "Jewish condition, " not in a national historical sense but as a model of crisis-oriented ethical challenge.