In Proximity

On Hilan Bensusan's Indexicalism

Authors

  • Steven Shaviro Wayne State University

Keywords:

Bensusan; Levinas; Joseph Libertson; Joseph Glass; Indexicalism; Proximity

Abstract

This paper considers Hilan Bensusan's Indexicalism as a speculative realist take on the philosophy of Emanuel Levinas. I show how Bensusan extends Levinas' encounter with the Other to all perceptual encounters that a situated subject has with multiple other entities, including nonhuman ones. I then discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Bensusan's admittedly paradoxical approach. I conclude by considering how Bensusan's account of  the asymmetry between the subject and the multiple others who address it relates to Joseph Libertson's account of Levinas, and to the difficult configurations that Libertson explores in his novels written under the pseudonym of Joseph Glass. 

References

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Published

14-12-2021

How to Cite

Shaviro, S. (2021). In Proximity: On Hilan Bensusan’s Indexicalism. Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, 17(2), 11–25. Retrieved from https://cosmosandhistory.org/index.php/journal/article/view/977

Issue

Section

Conference Proceedings