KARL JASPERS FORUM
TA91
(Müller)
Commentary
15
INTERSUBJECTIVE
EVENTS
by
Adhanom Andemicael
9
August 2007, posted 11 August 2007
[George
Berzins; <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/levinas/message/297>]
As
explained in Cohen's translation of Time and the Other,
according to Levinas, the other person encountered
face-to-face is not the subject's contemporary, they do not meet one another 'at
the same time.' The time of the Other and my time, or
the times of mineness, ecstatic temporalities, do not
occur at the same time. The time of the Other disrupts
or interrupts the self's own temporality.
[Adhanom Andemicael]
"Intersubjectivity" requires the existence of an "objective
present." In the absence of an "objective present," there can be no intersubjective events.
I
am not familiar with the work of Emmanuel Levinas.
However, yesterday I read a short explanation of "synchronicity" and "diachronicity" at:
<http://home.wxs.nl/~brouw724/Levinas.html>.
(1)
***
Below,
I present my analysis of Levinas'
philosophy:
***
A
few preliminary points:
--
R is a reality consisting of two minds, M1 and M2.(2)
--
M1 experiences its own (subjective) time S1.
--
M2 experiences its own (subjective) time S2.
Let
us consider the following three statements:
A:
Intersubjective events occur in
R.
B:
S1 and S2 occur independently of each other.
C:
M1 and M2 exist within a common "objective present."
***
Levinas
would probably claim that statement A is true. (He makes reference to
"face-to-face" encounters between the self and the Other [i.e., between M1 and M2].)
I
believe Levinas would also claim that statement B is
true. (In his philosophy, the Other exists outside of
the self's synchronic time.)
Levinas
seems to believe that statements A and B are both true.(3) Note, however, logically, A and B cannot both be
true.
Here
is the reason why:
If
A is true, C is true. However, if B is true, C is false. If A is true and B is true, C is both
true *and* false. We know
that C cannot be both true and false. Therefore, we know that A and B cannot
both be true.
***
I
suggest the following:
Intersubjective
events do *not* occur in R.
S1
and S2 occur independently of each other.
M1
and M2 do *not * exist within a common "objective
present."
(Please
see <http://www.KJF.ca/91-C12AND.htm>
and "PART IV" of "Target Article 61" <http://www.kjf.ca/61-TAAND.htm>.)
NOTES
1.
The work of Emmanuel Levinas is new to me. I hope I
have not misunderstood his philosophical position.
2.
In the example above, I describe a reality that has just two minds. However, we can consider a reality that
has any number of minds.
3.
I suggest that there are philosophers who believe that statements A and B are
both true.
------------------------------------------
Target
Article 61
http://www.kjf.ca/61-TAAND.htm
------------------------------------------
Adhanom
Andemicael
e-mail <Andemicael (at) worldnet.att.net
>