Desire and Justice : Levinas and Heschel on Human and Divine Pathos
Svenungsson, Jayne LU
(2011)
p.164-189
- Abstract
- The article investigates notions of subjectivity, pathos, desire and God in the philosophies of Emmanuel Levinas and Abraham Heschel. By bringing the two philosophers into dialogue, the article aims to question Levinas’ conviction that the idea of a personal God, characterized by “divine pathos,” is a mythological remnant which unavoidably leads the subject into idolatry. Furthermore, it challenges the assumption, also held by Levinas, that a God who not only can be desired by human beings, but who is also a desiring God, necessarily puts us at the risk of disregarding our fellow human beings. Pushing this assumption to its limits, one can even ask whether the proposed redirection of the desire for God towards the other human being does... (More)
- The article investigates notions of subjectivity, pathos, desire and God in the philosophies of Emmanuel Levinas and Abraham Heschel. By bringing the two philosophers into dialogue, the article aims to question Levinas’ conviction that the idea of a personal God, characterized by “divine pathos,” is a mythological remnant which unavoidably leads the subject into idolatry. Furthermore, it challenges the assumption, also held by Levinas, that a God who not only can be desired by human beings, but who is also a desiring God, necessarily puts us at the risk of disregarding our fellow human beings. Pushing this assumption to its limits, one can even ask whether the proposed redirection of the desire for God towards the other human being does not imply the risk of making the other person – the neighbor – an idol, and thereby deceiving her or him in a more intricate – but no less malign – way. Finally, the article suggests that part of the problem with Levinas’ assumption resides in his understanding of the nature of desire, more precisely, in his belief that there is such a thing as a non-erotic, “pure” metaphysical desire. It is argued that in order to attain a richer understanding of divine-human (but also of intrahuman) interrelatedness, it is necessary to recognize the unruly, erotic or even “impure” nature of desire. In this recognition lies the key to what can be termed, with inspiration from Heschel, a “theology of pathos.” (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/8728006
- author
- Svenungsson, Jayne
LU
- publishing date
- 2011
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- justice, God, pathos, subectivity, desire, phenomenology
- host publication
- Saving Desire : The Seduction of Christian Theology
- editor
- Shults, LeRon and Henriksen, Jan-Olav
- pages
- 164 - 189
- publisher
- William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
- ISBN
- 9780802866264
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 08e0d0cd-3c0f-4829-be30-0e20b422ac66 (old id 8728006)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 10:11:29
- date last changed
- 2021-02-16 12:30:46
@inbook{08e0d0cd-3c0f-4829-be30-0e20b422ac66,
abstract = {{The article investigates notions of subjectivity, pathos, desire and God in the philosophies of Emmanuel Levinas and Abraham Heschel. By bringing the two philosophers into dialogue, the article aims to question Levinas’ conviction that the idea of a personal God, characterized by “divine pathos,” is a mythological remnant which unavoidably leads the subject into idolatry. Furthermore, it challenges the assumption, also held by Levinas, that a God who not only can be desired by human beings, but who is also a desiring God, necessarily puts us at the risk of disregarding our fellow human beings. Pushing this assumption to its limits, one can even ask whether the proposed redirection of the desire for God towards the other human being does not imply the risk of making the other person – the neighbor – an idol, and thereby deceiving her or him in a more intricate – but no less malign – way. Finally, the article suggests that part of the problem with Levinas’ assumption resides in his understanding of the nature of desire, more precisely, in his belief that there is such a thing as a non-erotic, “pure” metaphysical desire. It is argued that in order to attain a richer understanding of divine-human (but also of intrahuman) interrelatedness, it is necessary to recognize the unruly, erotic or even “impure” nature of desire. In this recognition lies the key to what can be termed, with inspiration from Heschel, a “theology of pathos.”}},
author = {{Svenungsson, Jayne}},
booktitle = {{Saving Desire : The Seduction of Christian Theology}},
editor = {{Shults, LeRon and Henriksen, Jan-Olav}},
isbn = {{9780802866264}},
keywords = {{justice; God; pathos; subectivity; desire; phenomenology}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{164--189}},
publisher = {{William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company}},
title = {{Desire and Justice : Levinas and Heschel on Human and Divine Pathos}},
year = {{2011}},
}