| Synopsis: |
In this accessible and carefully crafted work, Michael B. Smith provides readers a systematic exposition of the essential concepts and themes that circulate throughout the thought of Emmanuel Levinas, a major voice in twentieth century thought. Unlike many recent studies that have pur-ported to examine the scope of Levinass thinking, "Toward the Outside" is distinguished by its attention to texts from both of Levinass two main genres: the philosophical and the confessional. Organised in three parts, the first examines key pairs of concepts -- totality/infinity, same/other, saying/said, among others. In Part 2, Smith more explicitly identifies themes that are essential to our better understand-ing of Levinas -- Judaism and the Holocaust, temporality, Levinass treatments of Husserl and Heidegger, Derridas reading of Levinas, and others. Finally, in Part 3, his commentary, based on close readings of selected Levinas texts, meticulously follows and highlights the development of Levinass thought. |