Levinas

Ann Chinnery

pp. 259-268

in: Paul Smeyers (ed), International handbook of philosophy of education, Berlin, Springer, 2018

Abstract

This chapter explores the ways in which Emmanuel Levinas's account of heteronomous subjectivity contributes to ongoing debates on autonomy as an educational aim. I first highlight some key points in Levinas's scholarly life. I then sketch his account of heteronomous subjectivity and provide a brief overview of arguments for and against autonomy as an educational aim. In the last section I explore how Levinas's work helps us see that while autonomy may be important for mitigating the risks of indoctrination and ethical servility, the current emphasis on cultivating autonomy as the hallmark of a liberal education risks fostering a kind of ethical blindness to the other, which, on a Levinasian view, marks an impoverished rather than flourishing human life.

Cited authors

Levinas Emmanuel