Levinas’s Humanism and Anthropocentrism

2018 ◽  
pp. 708-730
Author(s):  
Peter Atterton
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Moral Consideration ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Naturalistic Approach ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Absolute

This article attempts to broaden the scope of Levinas’s ethics beyond the narrow anthropocentric limits that Levinas himself set for it. It adopts a highly naturalistic approach that relies essentially on the Darwinian view that there is no single, definitive line between humans and animals. It argues that the logic of Levinas’s own arguments concerning the absolute alterity of the Other should have led him to construe the requirements for moral consideration more broadly to include not just human beings but certain nonhuman animals. The argument is not intended to apply to all animals, but only to those that have the capacity to suffer and to express that suffering by way of what Levinas calls “the face.”

scholarly journals The Joy of Being as Anthropological Practice

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
Agapov Oleg D. ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Subjectivity ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
The Human Condition

The joy of being is connected with one’s activities aimed at responding to the challenges of the elemental forces and the boundlessness of being, which are independent of human subjectivity. In the context of rising to the challenges of being, one settles to acquire a certain power of being in themselves and in the world. Thus, the joy of being is tied to achieving the level of the “miraculous fecundity” (E. Levinas), “an internal necessity of one’s life” (F. Vasilyuk), magnanimity (M. Mamardashvili). The ontological duty of any human being is to succeed at being human. The joy of being is closely connected to experiencing one’s involvement in the endless/eternity and realizing one’s subjective temporality/finitude, which attunes him to the absolute seriousness in relation to one’s complete realization in life. Joy is a foundational anthropological phenomenon in the structure of ways of experiencing the human condition. The joy of being as an anthropological practice can appear as a constantly expanding sphere of human subjectivity where the transfiguration of the powers of being occurs under the sign of the Height (Levinas) / the Good. Without the possibility of transfiguration human beings get tired of living, immerse themselves in the dejected state of laziness and the hopelessness of vanity. The joy of being is connected to unity, gathering the multiplicity of human life under the aegis of meaning that allows us to see the other and the alien in heteronomous being, and understand the nature of co-participation and responsibility before the forces of being, and also act in synergy with them.The joy of being stands before a human being as the joy of fatherhood/ motherhood, the joy of being a witness to the world in creative acts (the subject as a means to retreat before the world and let the world shine), the joy of every day that was saved from absurdity, darkness and the impersonal existence of the total. Keywords: joy, higher reality, anthropological practices, “the height”, subject, transcendence, practice of coping

scholarly journals Designing AI with Rights, Consciousness, Self-Respect, and Freedom

2020 ◽  
pp. 459-479
Author(s):  
Eric Schwitzgebel ◽  
Mara Garza
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Moral Consideration ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Moral Theories ◽  
Ethical Design ◽  
Rights Consciousness ◽  
Substantial Uncertainty

This chapter proposes four policies of ethical design of human-grade AI. Two of the policies are precautionary. Given substantial uncertainty both about ethical theory and about the conditions under which AI would have conscious experiences, the chapter argues that we should be cautious in our handling of cases where different moral theories or different theories of consciousness would produce very different ethical recommendations. The other two policies concern respect and freedom. The chapter argues that if we design AI that deserves moral consideration equivalent to that of human beings, then AI should be designed with self-respect and with the freedom to explore values other than those we might impose.

Conflict happens

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peggy D. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Coping Behaviors ◽  
Value Conflict ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The Face ◽  
Power Game ◽  
Growth And Change ◽  
Problem Solve

Conflict is a way of life. Many of us, from the days of our youth, have developed habits to avoid conflict. By agree­ing, apologizing, and pretending, we can sidestep many of the conflicts that come our way. But these coping behaviors are not necessarily healthy for us or for those on the other side of the conflict. What if we were able to see conflicts (large and small) as opportunities to problem- solve? “The key mistake we make when we feel frustrated is to abandon the problem- solving game and turn to the power game instead”. How might our days in school be different if we were able to dissolve con­flicts maturely and respectfully? Momentary discomforts quickly shift to momentary reflection. Conflict converts to an opportunity to learn and grow, rather than shrink and cower. When conflict is focused on transforming people (including ourselves) and not just changing situations, the results are bigger than resolution. Our disputes become a “supremely important human enterprise [that] embodies and expresses the highest and best within us as human beings”. When we do not run from conflict, we begin to see and feel it as a necessary part of life. When conflict no longer frightens us, we stay calm in the face of anger. We allow time to simply consider rather than fix. We breathe our way into self- assurance. With our new lens, we give conflict a more balanced inter­pretation, a more reasoned response. We do not perseverate; we deny ourselves the “worry habit.” We move through the dilemma. We let it be, inhaling and exhaling, to get ourselves back to a stance of strength and wisdom. Value conflict as a positive, seeing it as an adventure or jour­ney, an opportunity for growth and change, an invitation to intimacy and relationship, and an opening for transforma­tion.

scholarly journals Toxic Climates: Earth, people, movement, media

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-259
Author(s):  
Michael Haldrup ◽  
Kristine Samson ◽  
Madeleine Kate McGowan
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Media Activism ◽  
New Directions ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
People Movement

Planet Earth is toxic. Its atmosphere unbreathable. Its environments deadly intoxicated by the dehumanizing forces of xenophobia, environmental degradation and violence. As its peoples are increasingly on the move to make a worthy living exclusion, borders and conflict is a norm rather than an exception. And – as toxic substances dissipate and spreads through media and circulating representations they clouds the sight to the human beings in front of us. In the face of the intoxicating and dehumanizing forces at play,  we need remedies for sobering up rather than intoxication. Remedies for living with contamination and hybridity rather than altering these states. Partly inspired by Levinas and his ethics of the “nakedness of a face, the absolute defenseless face, without covering, clothing or mask” (1998: 21) and partly by Anna Tsings’ more recent call for “contamination” as a catalyst from which future ”world-making projects, mutual projects and new directions – may emerge” (2015: 27) we propose a radical humanizing intervention in - and beyond - institutions. A contamination of academic institutions and media with testimony from people living the change. A contamination of thought with action. A contamination of activism with thinking. In a cooperation between academic performance researchers and media activist collective Other Story we explore media activism as ways of expressing and enacting citizenships. Conceiving of thinking as a practice that “interrupts all ordering activities and is interrupted by them” (Arendt 1971: 197) we think through and with embodied others and their material lives rather than about them. Hence, the presentation will address interventions and evidence of staging a “radical softness” in the meeting with people who live through current planetary change and explore potentials for emerging shared sensibilities affecting our own embodied citizenships in the encounter with others in these toxic climates.

scholarly journals Reading Levinas’ Deconstruction of Time Through the Ethical Subject

2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-79
Author(s):  
Haeyeun Han
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Being And Time ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Face ◽  
Ethical Subject ◽  
The Relationship

This paper will take a closer look at Levinas' ethical subject and diachronic time in relation to Heidegger's project of Being and Time. Throughout the analysis, I will show how Levinas reformulates Heidegger's task and overcomes its limitation by successfully construing “the whole of time”, in the mode of discontinuity. Levinasian Diachronic time reveals a new signi-fication of finiteness, to be a Messiah, who dedicates oneself to the suffering others without seeking other-worldly hopes, for the “responsibility of a mortal being for a mortal being” itself is “the relationship with the infinite”. Furthermore, I will argue that through this diachronic time, Levinas attempts to construct a new structure of eternity under the influence of Rosenzweig. Levinas declares that only after falsifying hopes are dissolved in despair, infinity breaks into time, and enables “mortal human beings” to participate in “immortality” through the time of the Other. Whereas Heideggerian ontology attempted to articulate the meaning of Being-in-general based on the being of Dasein and temporality, Levinas captures that the pri-mordial horizon of ethics is the manifestation of the face of the Other and diachronic time, which lead us to think beyond Being, namely, “the otherwise than being”.

scholarly journals حضور اکرمﷺ بطور پیمبرِ امن و سلامتی

rahatulquloob ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 02-25
Author(s):  
Prof. Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Saadullah
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The People ◽  
Sense Of Security ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Good Will ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
The Absolute

Peace can be defined as a state of mind of individuals and groups where everyone lives without apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other. Justice gives birth to peace; when there is justice, there is a sense of security among people. A peacemaker is one who mitigates conflicts and nurtures good will and brings about a sustainable balance to the society. Indeed, Prophet Muhammad's life was an example of living the life of a peace maker.  The absolute character of Holy Prophetﷺ is impeccable in all characteristics and bestows an outright guidance in every step of life. It is an exemplary and pure fountain of love and mercy. His mercy is restricted not only to human beings but is also for animals and other creatures too. In this Paper will try to Discus about the character of Muhammadﷺ as Peace and Security maker, nothing is new, you have heard them time and again, but I am asking you to look at the deeper dimension embedded into these actions in creating peace for yourselves and the people who surround you. It is essentially expanding and sharing with you what Rahmatul Aalameen, a mercy to a mankind means.

scholarly journals Epistemologi Tindakan Muhammad Iqbal

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 80
Author(s):  
Suhermanto Ja’far
Keyword(s):  
Human Existence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Existence Of God ◽  
The Real ◽  
Real Existence ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Man And Nature ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
The Universe

<p>This paper highlights Iqbal’s epistemology which focuses on the question of metaphysic and ontology. To understand the absolute being, Iqbal starts from intuition about human beings’ ego engaged at reality of the absolute ego. Intuition can reveal the absolute reality or the real super ego. The real existence of reality is spiritual. The true reality, according to Iqbal, refers to the existence of God, man and nature. However, the real existence of reality is a manifestation of the absolute reality. It is an absolute being or an absolute ego. Intuition about self itself brings man to the intuition of ultimo reality. Iqbal’s epistemology of self (ego) is essentially talking about the philosophy of the human that focuses on self or ego. Self or ego is the starting point for Iqbal to relate between God and nature. Life in the universe, according to Iqbal, is a series of actions. All of these are for the benefit of mankind as a co-creator through the meaningful action. The meaningful action is a foundation of human existence in manifesting himself. Iqbal formulates this meaningful action as a manifestation of the way the human utilizes to face with the reality of the other. To Iqbal, meaningful action is charged with the ontological-religious content which emphasizes the fundamental spiritual aspect of Islam with the term ‘<em>amal</em> (noble conduct). To him, meaningful action will be always imprinted in people’s lives and only the meaningful action alone that can help people prepare themselves to face the destruction of their bodies.</p>

scholarly journals Berketuhanan dalam Perspektif Kepercayaan Sunda Wiwitan

MELINTAS ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Ira Indrawardana
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Historical Aspect ◽  
Religious Context ◽  
The Past ◽  
Belief In God ◽  
The People ◽  
The Face

By referring to the variety of cultures that have emerged and flourished in Indonesia, the author wants to figure the depth of ‘belief’ in God in relation to the respective cultural and spiritual expressions and through the rituals performed by the people of this belief (<em>kepercayaan</em>). Because of the influence of ‘Western’ beliefs brought into Indonesia by the colonialists in the past, the life of the people believing in God from within their own local beliefs together with the diversity of their cultures and spiritualities seem to have been marginalised. What is needed is a sort of new paradigm to view and value the local beliefs in the face of the so-called ‘official religions’ in Indonesia. This greater appreciation to the people of the local beliefs is in the line with the growing awareness of plurality of societies in this land. Efforts to recognise and understand the essence and values in the system of the local belief are of great importance. The author tries to explore how the doctrines of the belief <em>Sunda Wiwitan</em> develop by starting to browse the historical aspect of <em>Manusia Sunda</em> (‘Sundanese human being’) within its religious context and the other related elements in this system of belief. What is most important for the adherents of <em>Sunda Wiwitan</em> is not so much the frequence of praying to or worshiping God as the effort of every individual to maintain the attitude and deeds as a human being that keep the harmony of relation with the other human beings, the surrounding nature with all its contents, and God.

On the Development of Incomplete Cubic Tetrahedral Element Based on the Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tengfei Wang ◽  
Zuqing Yu ◽  
Peng Lan
Keyword(s):  
Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation ◽  
Interpolation Polynomial ◽  
The Other ◽  
Absolute Nodal Coordinate ◽  
Tetrahedral Element ◽  
Tetrahedral Elements ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
Material Points ◽  
Cartesian Coordinate

In this paper, a new four-node incomplete cubic tetrahedral element (ICTE) based on the absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF) is developed employing both volume coordinate and Cartesian coordinate parameter set. From the view of the order of interpolation polynomial basis, a criterion to develop the incomplete cubic ANCF tetrahedral element that can guarantee the quadratic accuracy is proposed. Based on the criterion, the new element and the other two existing incomplete cubic ANCF tetrahedral elements are compared analytically. The three elements are evaluated by both the static and dynamic numerical simulations. The new element successfully passes the patch test. The solutions of the proposed element in this paper agree well with analytical solutions or those given by the full cubic tetrahedral element/general commercial FE software. The higher accuracy and better convergence of the new element are verified. In addition, the method to develop incomplete cubic element by applying position constraints on the face center points and other corresponding material points of the full cubic element is discussed.

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