Totality, the Other, the Infinite

Abstract

The present study seeks to address the general question of the relation between Levinas's ethics and his account of religion. The specific questions pursued here include the following: Is his ethics secular or religious, and in what sense is it so, either way? Does his ethics depend on religion? How does Levinas himself understand 'religion'? This thesis will show that any interpretation of Levinas's ethics cannot be separated from its religious dimension, namely, the openness to exteriority as Desire for the Infinite. Religion, despite all consolations it may bring, cannot dispense with this ethical demand.