| français | Celebration of Emmanuel Levinas Centennial |
| January 1-December 31, 2006 | עברית |
| français | Celebration of Emmanuel Levinas Centennial |
| January 1-December 31, 2006 | עברית |
Copyright Bracha L. Ettinger 1991
The year 2006 marks the first centenary of the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) born in Kaunas (Lithuania) in 1906. Levinas introduced Husserl’s phenomenology to France, was heralded for his commentary on Husserl and Heidegger, and developped one of the most original philosophies of the 20th century. The impact of Levinas’ works extends today far beyond academia. Infinite responsibility for the Other, the core of Levinasian ethics, has direct implications for modern society in its struggle against poverty, for justice and the respect of the rights of others. Levinas’ spiritual and ethical positions have influenced multitudes of scholars in many disciplines, as well as leading activists around the world. Dissidents fighting for democracy and other human rights in lands as distant as the former Eastern block countries and Latin America, including intellectuals and statesmen such as Vaclav Havel in the Czech Republic and Jorge Semprun in Spain have acknowledged their debt to Levinas’ thought and recognized the inspiration they have drawn from his works.
Witness to the major events of the 20th century, the Holocaust, and the founding of the State of Israel, Levinas played a decisive role in the renaissance of Jewish life in Europe. Beginning in the immediate post war period, Levinas’ work in education, which he pursued for more than half a century at the Alliance Israelite Universelle along with his public teachings, affected generations of young Jews and left a lasting mark on the Jewish community of France as a whole.
Levinas bequeathed us an approach to the sources of Judaism, and to Talmudic texts in particular, that is both classical and revolutionary. Placing Jewish ethics above all dogmatism, and hence above all sterile debates between the ‘religious’ and the ‘secular’, he drew wider global attention to classic rabbinic texts and restored these writings to their rightful place among the greatest achievements of human thought.
To inform the public of the life and work of Emmanuel Levinas at the occasion of the centennial of the philosopher’s birth, the Association for the Commemoration of the Centenary of Emmanuel Levinas (Europe), the Levinas Ethical Legacy Foundation (North America), and the Centre Raïssa et Emmanuel Levinas (Israel) are planning a series of events in conjunction with universities and other institutions that will be held throughout the year 2006. International conferences will deal with the major facets of Levinas’ philosophical and Jewish works, as well as their impact in the social, political and educational arenas. Encounters on the philosopher’s works will be organized in a variety of settings including cultural and community centers. The general public will be provided access to Levinas’s thought through mass media. The year 2006 will also be devoted to furthering the translation of Levinas’ works into a number of languages, the first of these being Hebrew. A Centennial internet site will be operational as of the year 2005 and will provide information on all scheduled events.
| français | A Century with Levinas : Celebration of Emmanuel Levinas Centennial · January 1-December 31, 2006 | עברית |