The Intervention of the Other - Ethical Subjectivity in Levinas and Lacan

The Intervention of the Other deftly brings the thought of Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Lacan into fruitful dialogue through a comparative analysis of these two seemingly disparate thinkers. Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian-born French phenomenologist of the nonphenomenon, and Jacques Lacan, controversial French psychoanalyst and (post)structuralist theorist of the Freudian Unconscious, lived and wrote in the same city, at the same time, among the same colleagues, often using the same language and the same sources, sometimes writing to the same audiencesóand yet they never wrote to or about one another. Following Sartre, Levinas thought that Freud had fundamentally misunderstood the nature of consciousness when he posited the Unconscious as a second, but hidden, consciousness. Despite this suspicion of psychoanalysis, however, Levinasí own work celebrated a certain something that could not be contained by thought. For his part, Lacan was suspicious of philosophical ethics. He subscribed to a Freudian critique of ethics as pathogenic. Nevertheless, he saw his own work as fundamentally about a kind of ethics, specifically an ethics concerned with how people live their lives in an already normative society. While the two never engaged with each otherís thought directly, Levinas and Lacan were interested in many of the same questions: What is the nature of the self? What is it to be a subject? Can the ethical be grounded in a post-foundationalist world? Through close textual analysis, David Ross Fryer shows how Levinas and Lacan offer two ways of positing the ethical subject in the post-humanist landscape of contemporary thought. The Intervention of the Other deftly brings the thought of Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Lacan into fruitful dialogue through a comparative analysis of these two seemingly disparate thinkers. Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian-born French phenomenologist of the nonphenomenon, and Jacques Lacan, controversial French psychoanalyst and (post)structuralist theorist of the Freudian Unconscious, lived and wrote in the same city, at the same time, among the same colleagues, often using the same language and the same sources, sometimes writing to the same audiencesOand yet they never wrote to or about one another. Following Sartre, Levinas thought that Freud had fundamentally misunderstood the nature of consciousness when he posited the Unconscious as a second, but hidden, consciousness. Despite this suspicion of psychoanalysis, however, LevinasI own work celebrated a certain something that could not be contained by thought. For his part, Lacan was suspicious of philosophical ethics. He subscribed to a Freudian critique of ethics as pathogenic. Nevertheless, he saw his own work as fundamentally about a kind of ethics, specifically an ethics concerned with how people live their lives in an already normative society. While the two never engaged with each otherIs thought directly, Levinas and Lacan were interested in many of the same questions: What is the nature of the self' What is it to be a subject' Can the ethical be grounded in a post-foundationalist world' Through close textual analysis, David Ross Fryer shows how Levinas and Lacan offer two ways of positing the ethical subject in the post-humanist landscape of contemporary thought Emmanuel Levinas, French Philosopher, Was Suspicious Of Psychoanalysis, To Say The Least. Following Sartre And Others, Levinas Thought That Freud Had Fundamentally Misunderstood The Nature Of Consciousness, While Levinas's Own Work Celebrated A Certain Something That Could Not Be Contained By Thought. Jacques Lacan, French Psychoanalyst, Was, In Turn, Suspicious Of Philosophical Ethics: Lacan Subscribed To A Freudian Critique Of Ethics As Pathogenic, Though He Did See His Own Work As Fundamentally About A Kind Of Ethics, Specifically An Ethics Concerned With How People Live Their Lives In An Already Normative Society. While The Two Never Engaged With Each Other's Thought Directly, Levinas And Lacan Were Each Interested In Many Of The Same Questions: What Is It To Be A Subject? What Is The Subject's Relation To The Other? Can The Ethical Be Grounded In A Post-foundationalist World? Through Close Textual Analysis, David Ross Fryer Brings The Ideas Of These Two Seemingly Disparate Thinkers Into Productive Dialogue, Showing How Levinas And Lacan Offer Two Alternate Yet Complementary Ways Of Thinking About The Ethical Subject In The Post-humanist Landscape Of Contemporary Thought.--jacket. Introduction: Post-humanism And Ethical Subjectivity In Levinas And Lacan -- The Other And The Self : Creating The Subject -- Sexed Subjectivity, Symbolic Subjectivity -- Linguistic Subjectivity And The Speaking Subject -- Ethical Subjectivity : God, An-archy, The Subject, And Desire -- Conclusion: Post-humanist Ethical Subjectivity. David Ross Fryer. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [239]-245) And Index. The Intervention of the Other deftly brings the thought of Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Lacan into fruitful dialogue through a comparative analysis of these two seemingly disparate thinkers. Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian-born French phenomenologist of the non phenomenon, and Jacques Lacan, controversial French psychoanalyst and (post)structuralist theorist of the Freudian Unconscious, lived and wrote in the same city, at the same time, among the same colleagues, often using the same language and the same sources, sometimes writing to the same audiences - and yet they never wrote to or about one another. Following Sartre, Levinas thought that Freud had fundamentally misunderstood the nature of consciousness when he posited the Unconscious as a second but hidden consciousness. Despite this suspicion of psychoanalysis, however, Levinas' own work celebrated a certain something that could not be contained by thought. For his part, Lacan was suspicious of philosophical ethics. He subscribed to a Freudian critique of ethics as pathogenic. Nevertheless, he saw his own work as fundamentally about a kind of ethics, specifically an ethics concened with how people live their lives in an already Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Abbreviations and Citations......Page 12 Introduction: Post-Humanism and Ethical Subjectivity in Levinas and Lacan......Page 16 1. The Other and the Self: Creating the Subject......Page 46 2. Sexed Subjectivity, Symbolic Subjectivity......Page 86 3. Linguistic Subjectivity and the Speaking Subject......Page 130 4. Ethical Subjectivity: God, An-Archy, the Subject, and Desire......Page 170 Conclusion: Post-Humanist Ethical Subjectivity......Page 230 References......Page 254 Index......Page 262