Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 20:47:05 -0800




Anthony wrote:

>>From the perspective of Levinas, that notion of justice is something of an
>anachronism too, as is your analysis in terms of power. You're projecting
>some metaphysical meaning of justice onto what I'm saying. What you are
>saying is perfectly true - of traditional notions of justice.

To this, before retiring to tv or bed or both, Jan reponde:

>>Yes, it's time that Levinas enters this discussion here. Central in his
later writings is the notion of social justice is a *convenant*, one
that is ultimately grounded in both mutual human responsibility and
the responsibility for the (living and reading of the 'sacred') texts.

Here is the last paragraph of chapter 5 form his: _L'au-dela du verset_
[1982] (my rendering)

    "This in fact means that my responsibility is extended also to the
    responsibility the Other can except. I possess always already more
    responsibility than the Other, because I am also responsible for his/
    her responsibility. And when he/she is responsible for my responsi-
    bility, then still I am responsible for the responsibility he/she has for
    my responsibility: *ein ladavar sof*, 'and this will never end.' And
    beyond this responsibility of all for all rises the fact that I -living
(in)
    the Society of the Tora- am inevitably responsible for this Responsi-
    bility too ! It is a true ideal, but an ideal that presupposes the
humanity
    of humankind. If we think through the depths of the Testament and
    from within a society that unfolds all dimensions of its Laws, only
    then a society can become a true Communion."

yours,
Jan<<

hello jan, well my quick impessionistic reactive impulse to reading the
above was an audible chuckle, as a cinematic image rolling out from the
microscripted spirit of seriousness cloaked over this levinian treatise
tended itself toward said chuckle.

mo' directly bro', this "humanity of humankind", as the "True Ideal", yes,
this ideal requires this spirit, licensed as it is by the transcendent
world which, despite an aircraft carrier full of spirit of seriousness
books to the contrary, serves only an entity whose time on this blue planet
is now over, an artifact of the "It is Written" entity, no? or since N,
this entity no longer matters, it is a sentiment only, and over it in our
time this sentiment is "under erasure".

"Man is something that must be overcome, what have you done to overcome him
today?"

something much higher than ethics, here Levinas' ethics of "responsibility
for the responsibility" of "the other", needs to be seen than only those
whose vision is locked into this anthonical/leviniacian
weak-will-to-power'd myopicism.

the future belongs to the real and the real belongs to the strong spirit,
it is he who knows without thinking "what is real, and what is not", knows
that there are no truths inside the gates of eden - - - - -

this level of thinking is all still far too near the worm that lives
sensually, bedded deep down in the eden of lush composted earth and to
become, one day, compost itself, that, singularly, is all the transcendent
mind can offer to the Life Force as the Life Force!

if the dna that creates and animates your "you" can only make it up to the
rung of the ethical, or the transcendent, which is to say, up to the
'concept', then the dna that is "you" will not make that essential and
critical change it must make in order for the Life Force to rise higher
than all this detritus - - - or at least not if this is all it has attained
to so far - - -

etc etc etc,

Kenneth

actions taken on weak reactive wtp concepts, like "justice" and "ethics",
need license - -

to be continued

gin' to bed








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