Levinas' Platonic Inspiration

Abstract

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p> <p>I argue that the relationship between Levinas and Plato is best described as one of inspiration, because both thinkers understand themselves as inspired by a transcendent Good. Levinas’ obscure and frequent citations of Plato have led many scholars to conclude that their relationship is impossible to understand, but I argue that an implicit Platonic inspiration is at the root of each of Levinas’ polemic and descriptive arguments.</p> <p>My method is to map the overlap between Levinas and Plato in <em>Totality and Infinity</em> and <em>Otherwise than Being</em>. Inspiration, as a unifying concept, emerges from this mapping. I also consider Derrida’s demonstration of how difficult it is for Levinas to align himself with Plato. I argue that Derrida has missed the Platonic inspiration at the core of Levinasian philosophy and therefore cannot understand how the two are aligned. For both Levinas and Plato, inspiration puts the thinker’s ability to act in question, and makes the thinker realize his passivity to the transcendent Good.</p>