March 1, 2012
There is a certain ambiguity in Levinas when he says ‘Other’. By ‘Other’ he means the human Other although what he says also applies to the Infinite Other (God). There is an absolutely Infinite Other who is other than the human Other, however the two are so intimately related that the Infinite Other (God) is also in the human Other. The infinite Other (God) is not fully captured in the human Other because the human Other cannot imprison the Infinite. The Absolute Infinite (God) is not like a topic or theme which one can grasp and completely understand, but is instead a certain trace, of which we can only glimpse.
God’s trace is not an appearance or a phenomenon, in the sense that it is an uncovering or disclosure because it’s not just something given to perception nor is it a matter of knowledge. God’s presence is not a total manifestation, but only a glimpse or a trace. It is through us and through the human Other that God makes ‘manifest’. The infinite is ‘felt’ when, in the presence of the Other, the I says “Me-here-for-you.”The more I become just and responsible, the more I show the presence of God. God is invisible to the senses, we don’t see apparitions. However, we see people comforting and being responsible to Others.
When one does good, he cannot say “I have done all my duty.” Like the exigency for holiness and excellence, the ethical demand cannot be completed or finished. Emphasized here is difference between satis (from satis-fied) and magis. We are all called to be magis and therefore the person who does good knows that there is more good to be done.
Illeity
Certain Jewish prayers start addressing God using the personal ‘you’ or ‘thou.’ However, as the prayer progresses, the address to God becomes more distant and the prayer begins to refer to God as “ille,” which is the third person. Ille is the Latin form for the third person.
Ille is a form of address that shows that the person is tries to show that God has already passed on, and is already ahead. One cannot catch up with him and therefore God cannot be boxed. Because God is transcendent, already ahead, and is only a trace, the way he is manifested is through the testimony of human beings who do the good. When the subject says “Me here for you,” the person is giving witness and is thus testifying to the Infinite. The Greek word for witness is the same word from which we get the word martyr. The martyr gives witness to God and shows witness to God because he is willing to die for that which he believes in. The glory of God consists in retreating and so making the human being an image of his creativity.
Saying and Unsaying
We are doing something very paradoxical. The whole philosophy 102 venture has thus been an indiscretion with regard to the unsayable. The real essence of Levinas’ philosophy is not to remain as content in the mind, but to be lived out in action. Through Levinas we learn many terms and concepts and we will perhaps forget all of these. It’s important to talk about ethics just as, from time to time, you must say to your loved ones “Mahal kita.” But love is not just in the uttering of the words, but in the doing. Philosophy must be unsaid; that is, philosophy should not only remain on the conceptual level. When you are helping someone you do not think of Levinasian terms, you simply help the other.
The unsaying would be like this: “How do we make God come through us?” This is the very creativity of God, that precisely he uses me, a crooked instrument, to write straight, because I have the capacity of letting him through. This is testimony and witnessing. Even if one does not believe in God, one can still do the good.