An Outline for a Philosophy of Religion in Emmanuel Lévinas: The emergence of hermeneutics
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Abstract
The article introduces an outline for a philosophy of religion in the work of Emmanuel Lévinas. Thus, it throws light on an issue of interpretation in which, on the one hand, it is thought that the philosophy of Lévinas is framed in the Theological Turn in French Phenomenology and, on the other, the philosopher himself denies any theological approach. At the same time, it acknowledges the considerations of Levinas regarding God, the Holy Scriptures, and Sacredness, without framing his work in any form of philosophy of religion, of which he never wrote. Though there is some research in the philosophy of religion of Levinas, the value of such an approach, as a response to those who rush at affirming a Theological Turn within Levinasian philosophy, has not been yet considered. Bearing this in mind, the article focuses on the work Écrit et sacré (1989), which is his only work that might be labeled as “philosophy of religion”. Precisely, because just one work is not enough reason to characterize the entire thought of Levinas, only an outline is proposed in this article, thus preserving his undertaking, but allowing to address a work that has been usually dismissed. Therefore, the article shows that it might be more appropriate to speak of a Hermeneutic Turn than of a Theological Turn. First, it introduces a general view of the philosophy of religion to consider the possible points of contact with the philosophy of Lévinas. Second, it considers the idea of anomalies. Finally, it considers original elements of Écrit et sacré that might make possible to outline a philosophy of religion connected to a Hermeneutic Turn. It also shows that due to his familiarity with the Scriptures, Lévinas argues for a human being who is capable of them and who is open to them.
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