Ethics and literature: Levinas and literary criticism

In: Filozofija i društvo, Band 33, Heft 3, S. 632-647

Abstract

The question posed by this text is: can we use Levinasian ethics in the field
of literary studies? In order to provide the answer, Levinas?s attitude
toward art will need to be analyzed. His work contains numerous scattered
remarks about literature and other arts, but the most explicit statement on
the relationship between art and ethics can be found in his essay ?Reality
and Its Shadow?. Since Levinas?s view on art in this essay is predominantly
negative, it poses a significant problem for the application of his theory
in the field of literary studies. In order to overcome this difficulty, I
use Blanchot?s reworking of Levinasian ethics, and open the possibility of a
different relation between literature and ethics than the one originally
suggested by Levinas.