Identity and Religion in French Philosophy Emmanuel Levinas as a Model

Abstract

The question of religious identity has taken a central place in the philosophy of modernity in general and French philosophy in particular. Levinas (1906-1995) formulated his philosophy in a way that was different and distinct from his predecessors among philosophers such as Heidegger and Husserl, who influenced him and from whom he later differed regarding his conception of the self. He differed from Martin Heidegger in the concept of being after he authored the two books: (From Being to Being) and (The Other Time). Levinas's question of identity differs from the question of identity in Western philosophy (traditional ontology), which elevated the self as the center of human existence, thus focusing on the ego and selfishness; this is what prompted Levinas to focus on the other through dialogue with the other. Levinas's philosophy gives privileges to the other in contrast to the privileges of the self. The reason for the ambiguity that prevailed in his philosophy is his use of several terms: (as self, self, host, identity) and (as other, neighbor, guest, difference, otherness). The character that prevailed in his philosophy is the ethical character.