Encountering Finitude, Confronting Infinitude: Leo Tolstoy, Emmanuel Levinas, and the Ethics of Non-Resistance
This article follows a strand of ethical thought that weaves itself throughout Leo Tolstoy’s religious writings: the injunction of non-resistance. This ethical position has been described by some critics as a form of religious idolatry in Tolstoy’s work. I challenge that claim in this article by dep...
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| Medienart: | Elektronisch Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Verfügbarkeit prüfen: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Lade...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Sage
[2019]
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| In: |
Studies in Christian ethics
Jahr: 2020, Band: 33, Heft: 3, Seiten: 318-335 |
| RelBib Classification: | KAH Kirchengeschichte 1648-1913; Neuzeit NBE Anthropologie NCC Sozialethik TK Neueste Zeit VA Philosophie |
| weitere Schlagwörter: | B
Emmanuel Levinas
B non-resistance B Continental Philosophy B Christian Ethics B Leo Tolstoy |
| Online Zugang: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Zusammenfassung: | This article follows a strand of ethical thought that weaves itself throughout Leo Tolstoy’s religious writings: the injunction of non-resistance. This ethical position has been described by some critics as a form of religious idolatry in Tolstoy’s work. I challenge that claim in this article by deploying the work of Emmanuel Levinas to provide much needed nuance to Tolstoy’s call for non-resistance. Via the ethical framework provided by Levinas, I contend that Tolstoy’s positions are built upon a conception of the finite world that sees a proper comportment to finitude as the mode by which one engages the infinite. This ethical call is one that escapes satiation by demanding a ceaseless act of non-resistance—which is, for him, the essential kernel of the Christian message. Tolstoy’s God, I argue, is this infinite demand; something akin to an ethical claim that marks the subject—a mandate that is met when one enacts the ethical obligation of non-resistance. |
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| ISSN: | 0953-9468 |
| Enthält: | Enthalten in: Studies in Christian ethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0953946819860345 |