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Proper Names (Meridian: Crossing Aesthetics)

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Proper Names is a fascinating collection of essays previously available only in French. The pieces range from discussions of ethical, philosophical and theological questions in the work of Buber, Max Picard, Proust, Derrida and, especially, Maurice Blanchot. These works will be of interest to anyone who is already familiar with the extraordinary work of Emmanuel Levinas, who is, in my mind, one of the most important and original thinkers of the 20th century. The texts allow one to watch Levinas engaged in acts of response/responsibility to and for the Other within the framework of his own ethical system. It is my experience that, if one is concerned with the possibility of ethics after Hegel or, more precisely, Heidegger, everything that Levinas wrote is worth reading. However, if one is not already acquainted with this writer, one should start elsewhere. Infinity and Totality is the best starting point, but The Levinas Reader and Otherwise than Being (the more difficult of these three works) are better starting points.