University of Oregon

the strong and the weak

"The Strong and the Weak", section three of "Penser Aujourd'hui: Emmanuel Levinas" (1991).

Levinas discusses his famous analyses of the face. For Levinas, the face expresses a weakness and demands responsibility for the other. Levinas links this notion of responsibility to the Biblical ideas of "holiness" and "election/the elect".

Thanks to Salmon Philippe for assistance with the translation.