Escape to Judaism: Levinas's First Steps toward Becoming a Jewish Thinker

Niv Perelsztejn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

This paper recontextualizes Emmanuel Levinas's intellectual journey of the 1930s, focusing on his first philosophical and Jewish writings and his initial criticism of Martin Heidegger. It demonstrates Levinas's philosophical transformation using newly discovered texts alongside published writings. These texts illustrate the early stage of his philosophical development and its connection to his first involvements with Jewish thought. An English translation of a newly discovered radio talk Levinas gave in 1937 is appended. This lecture enables a glimpse into the historical and philosophical context of the journey taken by a young immigrant Jewish philosopher in the intellectual scene of 1930s Paris.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)267-291
Number of pages25
JournalJournal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy
Volume32
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Niv Perelsztejn, 2024.

Keywords

  • Emmanuel Levinas
  • Jewish philosophy
  • Martin Heidegger
  • phenomenology of religion
  • sociology of religious practice
  • twentieth-century French philosophy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cultural Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Religious studies
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Philosophy
  • Literature and Literary Theory

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