The self and the suffering other: Levinas and Santideva on the ethics of compassion

摘要

Grounded in the work of Emmanuel Levinas and Santideva, this thesis is an exploration of the tension between the call of the suffering other and the care for the self. I argue that the asymmetrical ethics of compassion that prioritizes the suffering of the other over the concerns of the self is at the heart of Levinas's philosophy. While defending Levinas's understanding of the asymmetrical character of ethics, I have looked elsewhere for a solution to the problematic violence of Levinasian ethical subjectivity, in which the self is perpetually guilty, traumatized by the inescapable burden of a responsibility it cannot fulfill. To address this violence towards self while maintaining the asymmetrical ethics of compassion, I have drawn on Santideva's Bodhicaryavatara. Santideva's account of subjectivity and ethics indicates a path of self-cultivation that develops compassionate attention to the suffering other. I have described and analyzed this path, emphasizing how it addresses the deepest needs of the self while simultaneously enabling a greater sensibility to the suffering of others and a greater capacity for the alleviation of their distress.