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https://doi.org/10.22364/ilt.24.11 | 148-157 | PDF

Kitija Mirončuka 
Mg., LU Filozofijas un socioloģijas institūta zinātniskā asistente, LU doktorante
 

Ceļā no izpratnes līdz rīcībai. Levins un Fanons par Es–Cits attiecībām

Atslēgvārdi: atbildības ētika, iekļaušana, rasisms, saliedētība, strukturālā vardarbība
 

On the Way from Understanding to Action. Levinas and Fanon on Self-Other Relations

Keywords: ethics of responsibility, inclusion, racism, cohesion, structural violence.

For Emmanuel Levinas, human relations are based on the tendency of the imperialist subjectivity of the Self to destroy the alien and Other, subordinating it to its own identity. Self and Other become the inevitably interconnected elements of an asymmetrical relationship in which the Self becomes the bearer of values, and the Other ‒ the external and alien to be encountered and appropriated. However, the relationship between the Self and Other is not as homogeneous. As soon as the Self attempts to take over the Other as the basic element of its own being, the Other tries to accomplish something similar with the Self. There is no longer a moral obligation, a peace, between the Self and the Other, but a never-ending conflict. Hence, the inclusion of Frantz Fanon’s analysis of racial conflict in this discussion illuminates the dynamics of the Self-Other relationship in the real world, not only in relation to Totality. Fanon’s postcolonial study of racism reveals how historical and societal structures reinforce the inequalities of the Self-Other relationship, which seeks power and subjugation, highlighting the urgent need to dismantle systems of oppression and promote genuine equality and understanding. This nuanced perspective highlights the complexity of power dynamics and the role of ethical responsibility in fostering inclusive relationships. The aim of this article is to reveal the true dynamics of the Self-Other relationship by deepening the idea of an ethics of responsibility proposed by Levinas with the observations and conclusions of Fanon’s analysis of racism in human relations, which were also based on a significant imperialist subjectivity, analysed through the prism of colonialism.  

Uz zināmā un nezināmā robežas. Sast., zin. red. I. Kivle, R. Bičevskis. Rīga: LU Akadēmiskais apgāds, 2024. 184. lpp.