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The reconciliation of time between Levinas and Heidegger

Posted on:2012-06-15Degree:M.AType:Thesis
University:State University of New York at BinghamtonCandidate:Nichols, JacksonFull Text:PDF
GTID:2465390011464936Subject:Philosophy
Abstract/Summary:
For Emmanuel Levinas, Martin Heidegger has a synchronic conception of time, meaning that time is experienced subjectively. Synchrony implies that the world corresponds to a person's conception of it. Levinas asserts a different formation of time, one that is diachronic, time is experienced outside of the subject. Diachronic time makes the world not immediately grasped or aptly perceived. Time leads Levinas to create an ethics based on the face, a person is incapable of fully understanding another; showing both a respect and a duty towards that person. I do not argue against Levinas' conception of time, however, Levinas' understanding of Heidegger's conception of time is limited to Heidegger's earlier thought; such as Being and Time and Basic Problems of Phenomenology. I show through Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning), Heidegger's notion of time changes. I show that the ethical implications that follow from Heidegger's reconfiguration of time are similar to Levinas'.
Keywords/Search Tags:Levinas, Heidegger, Conception
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