State of Others (Paperback)

Elad Lapidot

ISBN 10: 0253073278 / ISBN 13: 9780253073273

Published by Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN, 2025

About this Item

Paperback. State of Others: Levinas and Decolonial Israel explores the relations between post-Holocaust Jewish thought and postcolonial thought through the work of Emmanuel Levinas. In the last decade, thinkers have criticized Levinas for his Eurocentrism; however, author Elad Lapidot argues that Levinas anticipated this critique and, from the 1960s onward, began setting the foundations for decolonial Jewish thought - and for decolonial Zionism.State of Others offers an innovative analysis of Levinas's intellectual project as articulated around a turn in the year 1968. This turn relates to the relationship between Judaism and Western civilization. Prior to 1968, Levinas considered the historical Jewish collective, Israel, as the avant-garde of Western humanism. After 1968, with the rise of decolonial discourse, Levinas's concept of Israel shifts roles and becomes the paradigmatic victim of Western imperialism.State of Others demonstrates how Levinas simultaneously developed his dual narratives - before and after the pivotal year of 1968 - across his philosophical and Jewish writings, with a special emphasis on the Talmudic Readings. It presents for the first time a cohesive overview of Levinas's writings, both early and late, as interconnected components of a singular intellectual endeavor. The ethical principles concerning the other, as articulated by Levinas, are conceptually linked to his reflections on the State of Israel. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780253073273

Bibliographic Details

• Title: State of Others (Paperback)
• Publisher: Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0253073278
• ISBN 13: 9780253073273
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

State of Others: Levinas and Decolonial Israel explores the relations between post-Holocaust Jewish thought and postcolonial thought through the work of Emmanuel Levinas. In the last decade, thinkers have criticized Levinas for his Eurocentrism; however, author Elad Lapidot argues that Levinas anticipated this critique and, from the 1960s onward, began setting the foundations for decolonial Jewish thought―and for decolonial Zionism.

State of Others offers an innovative analysis of Levinas's intellectual project as articulated around a turn in the year 1968. This turn relates to the relationship between Judaism and Western civilization. Prior to 1968, Levinas considered the historical Jewish collective, Israel, as the avant-garde of Western humanism. After 1968, with the rise of decolonial discourse, Levinas's concept of Israel shifts roles and becomes the paradigmatic victim of Western imperialism.

State of Others demonstrates how Levinas simultaneously developed his dual narratives―before and after the pivotal year of 1968―across his philosophical and Jewish writings, with a special emphasis on the Talmudic Readings. It presents for the first time a cohesive overview of Levinas's writings, both early and late, as interconnected components of a singular intellectual endeavor. The ethical principles concerning the other, as articulated by Levinas, are conceptually linked to his reflections on the State of Israel.

About the Author

Elad Lapidot is Professor of Hebraic Studies at the University of Lille. He is author of Jews Out of the Question: A Critique of Anti-Anti-Semitism.