The Ethical Phenomenology of Emmanuel Levinas: Drawing on Phenomenology to Explore the Central Features of Family Life

Abstract

Phenomenology is introduced as a source of new insights into how family relations are lived and experienced today. The ethical phenomenology of Emmanuel Levinas holds particular promise in this endeavor, as his work highlights the ways in which family life emerges out of an ethical relationality that is operative in virtually all family relations. Through learning to see how ethical relationality informs the active, ongoing responsiveness of the ways of being of family members, forms of violence in family life, and the relation between family and other social organizations, interests, and institutions, ethical phenomenology can assist interpretive family research in making manifest dimensions of family life that were previously overlooked and unappreciated, and it can contribute to the development of theoretical innovations in understanding family.

Strong Relationality and Ethical Responsiveness: A Framework and Conceptual Model for Family Science

“…In seeing the face of the Other, Levinas argued that we are presented with a “gift” of ethical responsibility—the “ethical demand of the other” (Marcus, , p. 17). As Knapp () noted, this is a “gift that summons me to respond. The presence or face of the Other is received as a command for the self to be responsible [to respond]” (p. 230)—a command to engage the Other in responsible actions.…”

“…These philosophical perspectives undergird and illustrate a strong, ethically relational view of the self (Knapp, ). From this ethical relationality, our moral character, our way of being, is defined by who we are in relation to others (Levinas, ; Williams, , ; Williams & Gantt, , ), and our ethical responsiveness—which determines our position along the I–It and I–Thou continuum—fundamentally alters our cognitions about others, our behavior in relation to them, their behavior in relation to us, and, ultimately, the quality of our relationships (Arbinger Institute, , ; Warner, ; Warner & Olson, ).…”

“…Our identities are constituted by the unique nexus of our relationships in the past, present, and future” (Slife & Wiggins, , p. 19). Relying on the work of Martin Buber and Emmanuel Levinas, we argue that in each of our associations we are faced with the “ethical demand of the other” (Marcus, , p. 17); from such a view, the self is defined in terms of an ethical relationality (Knapp, ). We suggest that it is responsiveness to this ethical demand that determines who we are.…”

Qualities of Character That Predict Marital Well‐Being

“…In this study of married couples, we sought to extend this research by examining the predictive ability of a unique set of character qualities on marital satisfaction. On the basis of theoretical assertions that positive relationship outcomes are most likely to occur in contexts that emphasize other‐centeredness (Fife, ; Knapp, ) and a general positive outlook, we specifically focused on three qualities of character: humility, compassion, and positivity.…”

“…Recent theoretical articles by Fife () and Knapp () support the idea that couple and family functioning may be affected by individuals' character or way of being. Drawing on Martin Buber's philosophical work, Fife notes a general tendency of individuals to perceive others in either an “I‐It” or “I‐Thou” fashion—seeing and responding to others either as people or as objects.…”