The riddle of the word: Levinas and the aphasia of the contemporary world

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36517/Argumentos.29.11

Keywords:

Word. Phenomenon. Riddle. Otherness. Crisis.

Abstract

The crisis of the contemporary world can be interpreted to a large extent as a crisis of the word. Levinas thinks that we are part of a civilization of aphasics, dominated by a disconcerting and dehumanizing silence. For him, without the word that comes from a radical otherness, thinking would just be an accumulation of information, without any orientation. Nor would we be able to keep alive the search for truth, which is animated by the desire of the other. We argue in the sense of showing that the word has a double function: a) to teach us the meaning of object orientation (fighting to avoid misunderstandings and obscurities, or, simply, entering the space of reasons); b) signify by contrast to the phenomenon, that is, the word is an enigma, it goes beyond objectification. The word is the meaning that allows us to think “more” than we are capable of aiming at. The word is the condition for a permanent and unpredictable renewal of cultural life.

 

 

Keywords: word, phenomenon, riddle, otherness, crisis

Author Biography

Marcelo Fabri, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM)

Possui graduação em Filosofia pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas (1985), mestrado em Educação pela Universidade Estadual de Campinas (1989) e doutorado em Filosofia pela Universidade Estadual de Campinas (1995). Realizou estágio pós-doutoral na Università di Catania (Itália), de outubro de 2004 a julho de 2005. Atualmente é professor aposentado da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Tem experiência na área de Filosofia, com ênfase em Ética Fenomenológica, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: subjetividade, ipseidade, alteridade, Husserl, Levinas, fenomenologia francesa.

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Published

2023-01-01

Issue

No. 29 (2023)

Section

Crisis Dossier

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