Levinas on the Relationship between Pleasure and the Good

The article discusses the relationship between pleasure and the Good in Levinas’s ethics. Firstly, the paper points out that, for Levinas, pleasure and the Good are both essentially related to sensibility, except that pleasure is concerned with the self-affection of sensibility, and the Good is conc...

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Main Authors: Guangyao Wang, Longxiang Jiang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-08-01
Series:Religions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/8/765
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author Guangyao Wang
Longxiang Jiang
author_facet Guangyao Wang
Longxiang Jiang
author_sort Guangyao Wang
collection DOAJ
description The article discusses the relationship between pleasure and the Good in Levinas’s ethics. Firstly, the paper points out that, for Levinas, pleasure and the Good are both essentially related to sensibility, except that pleasure is concerned with the self-affection of sensibility, and the Good is concerned with the hetero-affection of sensibility. The self-affection of pleasure and enjoyment enables the subject to locate and contract itself, and thus to establish an inner and separated self. Meanwhile, the Good is originated from the hetero-affection of the call of the transcendent Other, and is embodied in an involuntary suffering for the other’s suffering, weakness, and needs. Secondly, the paper argues that the relationship between pleasure and the Good is highly tensional. On the one hand, the Good does interrupt the egoism of life and its pleasure. On the other hand, pleasure actually constitutes a necessary condition for the Good, rather than something that must be rejected. The intersection of pleasure and the Good constitutes an insurmountable and irreducible tension within subjectivity. Finally, the paper places Levinas’s ethics in a dialogue with hedonism, virtue ethics, asceticism, and deontology, and regards Levinas’s ethics as a new paradigm for understanding the relationship between pleasure and the Good in the history of Western ethics.
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spelling doaj.art-bb27311fc3304e97b6c59dba8f7328402023-12-03T14:23:19ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442022-08-0113876510.3390/rel13080765Levinas on the Relationship between Pleasure and the GoodGuangyao Wang0Longxiang Jiang1School of Politics and Public Administration, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, ChinaSchool of Humanities and Law, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110169, ChinaThe article discusses the relationship between pleasure and the Good in Levinas’s ethics. Firstly, the paper points out that, for Levinas, pleasure and the Good are both essentially related to sensibility, except that pleasure is concerned with the self-affection of sensibility, and the Good is concerned with the hetero-affection of sensibility. The self-affection of pleasure and enjoyment enables the subject to locate and contract itself, and thus to establish an inner and separated self. Meanwhile, the Good is originated from the hetero-affection of the call of the transcendent Other, and is embodied in an involuntary suffering for the other’s suffering, weakness, and needs. Secondly, the paper argues that the relationship between pleasure and the Good is highly tensional. On the one hand, the Good does interrupt the egoism of life and its pleasure. On the other hand, pleasure actually constitutes a necessary condition for the Good, rather than something that must be rejected. The intersection of pleasure and the Good constitutes an insurmountable and irreducible tension within subjectivity. Finally, the paper places Levinas’s ethics in a dialogue with hedonism, virtue ethics, asceticism, and deontology, and regards Levinas’s ethics as a new paradigm for understanding the relationship between pleasure and the Good in the history of Western ethics.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/8/765Levinaspleasurethe Goodsensibilityenjoymentethics
spellingShingle Guangyao Wang
Longxiang Jiang
Levinas on the Relationship between Pleasure and the Good
Religions
Levinas
pleasure
the Good
sensibility
enjoyment
ethics
title Levinas on the Relationship between Pleasure and the Good
title_full Levinas on the Relationship between Pleasure and the Good
title_fullStr Levinas on the Relationship between Pleasure and the Good
title_full_unstemmed Levinas on the Relationship between Pleasure and the Good
title_short Levinas on the Relationship between Pleasure and the Good
title_sort levinas on the relationship between pleasure and the good
topic Levinas
pleasure
the Good
sensibility
enjoyment
ethics
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/8/765
work_keys_str_mv AT guangyaowang levinasontherelationshipbetweenpleasureandthegood
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