Beals discusses ‘Art of Disappearing’ at faculty lecture Oct. 9

Corey Beals (Religious Studies) will present the 2007 Fall Faculty Lecture, “Relational Metaphysics and the Art of Disappearing,” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9, in Hoover 105.

Beals will discuss postmodern Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas’ view of human nature – a view that suggests that the ethical relation with “the Other,” as he calls, is not derived from human nature but is what constitutes human nature. “In other words, what makes me human is that I am in relation with the ‘Other,’” Beals says. “This relation is not just a type of social contract where we agree not to kill each other, but it is a relation that requires me to be responsible for my neighbor.”

Beals suggests that those who harm others in the face of this relation do so by becoming “invisible to the ‘Other.’”

“The ways of becoming invisible are many, and this is the subject of this lecture,” Beals says.

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