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Of God Who Comes to Mind (Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics)

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"The Infinite concerns me and encircles me, speaking to me through my own mouth. And there is no pure witnessing except of the Infinite. This is not a psychological wonder, but the modality according to which the Infinite comes to pass, signifying through him to whom it signifies, understood insofar as, before any engagement, I respond for the other (p.75)" Thus spoke Emmanuel Levinas. Provocative, illuminating, largely inaccessible as only Levinas can be, this text considers the relationship of the self to the other through the epistemological lens of the a priori existence of a God to whom we respond before understanding the nature of the order. Levinas asserts that, in responding for the other - in taking our neighbor as our brother - we become, in fact, his hostage. For Levinas, this is the necessary trauma of awakening. Some portions of the text are totally incomprehensible, but this is to be expected, and is part of the labor of understanding his philosophy. If you want an easy read, this is not it - hence, don't take it on the train to work!