A study of Emmanuel Levinasâs philosophical project and the necessary role his essays on Jewish education play in the projectâs success.
Reexamining Emmanuel Levinasâs essays on Jewish education within the context of his larger philosophical project, Claire Elise Katz provides new insights into the importance of education and its potential to transform a democratic society. Katz examines Levinasâs âCrisis of Humanism,â which motivated his effort to describe a new ethical subject. Taking into account his multiple influences on social science and the humanities, and his various identities as a Jewish thinker, philosopher, and educator, Katz delves deeply into Levinasâs works to understand the grounding of this ethical subject and democracy.
âClaire Elise Katz makes great strides in resolving our current cultural war over the role of religion in the public sphere. By turning to Levinasâs writings on education, she shows how religion as a cultural form can engender ethical agents in a way that standard philosophical accounts fail to do.â âMartin Kavka, Florida State University
âThe great achievement of Claire Katzâs new book, Levinas and the Crisis of Humanism, is to explain the meaning of Levinasâs ethics in a way that makes it relevant for everyday life without either simplifying it or resorting to the paraphrase that is so often the pitfall of Levinas scholarship. . . . Katzâs book succeeds in transmitting a deep sense of how Levinasâs philosophy is important and relevant in a world in crisis.â âNotre Dame Philosophical Reviews
â[I]n addition to its excellent readings of many texts and its helpful contextualizing of Levinasâs project, Katzâs book is a very good one indeed and one to be highly recommended.â âAJS Review