Philosophy Today

My favorite thing about Philosophy Today (based at DePaul University, of course) is that they’re the only journal that consistently publishes articles earlier than promised. I woke up today and looked in the inbox and found the proofs to the article and a November publication date, at least 6 months earlier than expected.

This is an article on Totality and Infinity and on what I see as three separate criticisms of Heidegger found there. Levinas is far from used up, he’s simply been viewed so far in a caricatured sort of way. I’ve always seen him as the most innovative of Heidegger’s readers in France, and yes I’d certainly rate him above Derrida in that respect. It’s still a minority view, but one I’m willing to bank on.

This article was originally my talk at the Levinas conference in Bulgaria in October 2006. And by the way, I really love Sofia. Lots of tree-lined brick streets on which to walk and think. Those are happy memories.

There was supposed to be a conference anthology, in book form. After a couple of years that was bogged down, so I asked for and received permission to send it out as an article instead, and the Bulgaria people graciously agreed. (As time goes by, I find it more frustrating to have things appear only many years after completion.)