Levinas's claim that 'ethics is first philosophy' means:
AEthics courses should be taught before metaphysics courses in university curricula
BThe ethical relation to the Other — the face-to-face encounter — is more fundamental than ontology, epistemology, or any other branch of philosophy
CMoral rules are self-evident and do not require philosophical justification
DAll philosophical questions can be reduced to ethical questions
Since Aristotle, Western philosophy has treated ontology (the study of Being, what exists) or epistemology (the study of knowledge) as 'first philosophy' — the foundation on which everything else rests. Levinas argues that the ethical encounter with the Other is more primordial than either. Before I know the world or understand Being, I am already addressed by the Other who demands my responsibility. This ethical relation is not one chapter of philosophy — it is the condition that makes philosophy possible.
Question 2 True / False
Levinas's concept of 'the face' refers to the physical appearance of another person.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
The face (le visage) in Levinas's philosophy is not the physical face — it is the ethical dimension of the encounter with the Other. The face 'speaks' — it makes an ethical demand ('Do not kill me') that is not reducible to perception or knowledge. When I encounter the face of the Other, I am confronted with a vulnerability and an infinity that exceed any concept or category I might apply. The face resists my attempt to comprehend, classify, or totalize the Other — it is the point at which the Other exceeds my grasp.
Question 3 Short Answer
How does Levinas's philosophy challenge Heidegger's ontology?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Heidegger makes the question of Being the fundamental philosophical question. Levinas argues that this subordinates ethics to ontology — the Other becomes just another being within the horizon of Being. For Levinas, the ethical encounter with the Other breaks through the horizon of Being: the Other is not a being I can comprehend within my world but an infinity that exceeds my categories. Ethics — the responsibility I bear for the Other — is more fundamental than Being, and ontology's pretension to be first philosophy is an act of violence against the irreducible alterity of the Other.
Levinas's critique of Heidegger is both philosophical and ethical. Philosophically, he argues that Heidegger's ontology reduces everything to the question of Being, which is ultimately my question — the question of my understanding. The Other is thereby absorbed into my horizon. Ethically, Levinas connects this reduction to the totalizing violence of Western philosophy: the attempt to comprehend everything within a single system. The face of the Other resists this totalization — it is the point at which infinity breaks into the totality of Being.
Question 4 True / False
Levinas argues that my responsibility for the Other is a reciprocal relationship — I am responsible for you if and only if you are responsible for me.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: False
Levinas insists that ethical responsibility is asymmetrical: I am responsible for the Other without expecting or requiring reciprocity. This is one of his most radical claims. Responsibility is not a contract or an exchange — it is an infinite demand placed on me by the vulnerability of the Other's face. I cannot wait for the Other to be responsible for me before I take up my responsibility. The asymmetry is essential: to make responsibility reciprocal would be to turn ethics into economics, reducing the infinite demand of the Other to a calculable exchange.