Difficult Justice Commentaries on Levinas & Politics

French philosopher and Talmudic commentator Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995), is best known for his highly original philosophy of ethics, and for his two major works on the subject, "Totality and Infinity" (1961) and "Otherwise Than Being or Beyond Essence" (1974). Less well known, however, is a short essay Levinas published in 1934, "Refections on the Philosophy of Hitlerism," in which he considers German conservatism and the Nazi movement, and reflects on Western philosophy's capacity to insure itself against "elemental evil." "Difficult Justice" uses this essay as an introduction to present a collection of thought-provoking papers on Levinas's ethical and political thought. Editors Asher and Gad Horowitz bring together an impressive list of contributors to examine Levinas from a variety of different perspectives. Together the contributors explore how Levinas's work relates to political questions and to liberalism in particular. The Horowitz's detailed and stimulating collection will not only be invaluable to Levinas scholars, it will also be of interest to those working in philosophy, feminism, Judaic studies, and political theory.