Vladimir Jankélévitch: The Time of Forgiveness

by Aaron T. Looney

Overview

Vladimir Jankélévitch: The Time of Forgiveness traces the reflections of the French philosopher and musicologist Vladimir Jankelevitch on the conditions and temporality of forgiveness in relation to creation, history, and memory. The author demonstrates the influence of Jewish and Christian thought on Jankelevitch’s philosophy and compares his ideas about the gift character of forgiveness, the role of retributive emotions in conceptions of justice, and the limits of reason with those of Aristotle, Butler, Kant, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Scheler, Arendt, Derrida, Levinas, and Ricoeur.

The Shoah was the pivotal historical event in Jankelevitch’s life. As this book shows, Jankelevitch’s question “Is forgiveness possible as a response to evil?” remains a potent philosophical conundrum today. Paradoxically, for Jankelevitch, evil is both the impetus and the obstacle to forgiveness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823262977
Publisher:	Fordham University Press
Publication date:	04/23/2015
Series:	Perspectives in Continental Philosophy
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	704 KB

About the Author

Aaron Looney teaches philosophy at Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: In the Margins 1
1. First Philosophy
2. Apophatic Approaches
3. The Temporality of Human Existence and Action
4. Translating Resentment
5. The Inexcusable and the Unforgivable
6. Love and Justice
7. Repentance: Concerning Unconditionality
8. What Remains

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Looney gives a general introduction to Jankélévitch's thought, then goes on to provide an in-depth study of Jankélévitch's book Forgiveness by comparing and contrasting it with thinkers such as Max Scheler, Nietzsche, Levinas, Derrida, Aristotle, and other prominent writers in moral thought." -Andrew Kelley, Bradley University

"Aaron Looney carefully lays out the hyperbolic logic of pure forgiveness demanded by Jankélévitch. He shows us that the two most important books by Jankélévitch both differ dramatically from each other and yet can be read as being in continuity. Looney presents a rich tapestry in which he considers such influences on Jankélévitch as Bergson, Nietzsche, and Scheler. He also examines the relationship between Jankélévitch and such thinkers as Arendt and Derrida (showing Derrida to be much closer to Jankélévitch than one might think). The result is a moving work in which we are reminded just how central forgiveness is to human existence."—Bruce Ellis Benson, Wheaton College

"Vladimir Jankélévitch: The Time of Forgiveness is an insightful analysis of the thought of the twentieth-century French philosopher, providing a long overdue consideration of Jankélévitch in English. Aaron Looney deftly explicates Jankélévitch's subtle and complex perspectives on evil and forgiveness within religious and philosophical traditions. The result is a sensitive and evocative interpretation of Jankélévitch and a wonderfully rich meditation on forgiveness."—Johannes Brachtendorf, Eberhard Karls Universität

From the Publisher

Aaron Looney carefully lays out the hyperbolic logic of pure forgiveness demanded by Jankélévitch. He shows us that the two most important books by Jankélévitch both differ dramatically from each other and yet can be read as being in continuity. Looney presents a rich tapestry in which he considers such influences on Jankélévitch as Bergson, Nietzsche, and Scheler. He also examines the relationship between Jankélévitch and such thinkers as Arendt and Derrida (showing Derrida to be much closer to Jankélévitch than one might think). The result is a moving work in which we are reminded just how central forgiveness is to human existence.

Wheaton College - Bruce Ellis Benson

It is a scandal that we have had to wait so long for the first monograph in English on Jankekevitch, but this book is more than a fitting tribute to a major thinker. By focusing on Jankelevitch's controversial but difficult theory of forgiveness Aaron T. Looney had made a genuine philosophical contribution in his own right.

Penn State University - Robert Bernasconi

Looney gives a general introduction to Jankélévitch’s thought, then goes on to provide an in-depth study of Jankélévitch’s book Forgiveness by comparing and contrasting it with thinkers such as Max Scheler, Nietzsche, Levinas, Derrida, Aristotle, and other prominent writers in moral thought.

Bradley University - Andrew Kelley