Postmodern Ethics, Emptiness, and Literature

Jae-seong Lee is professor of English specializing in critical theory at Pusan National University.

• CHAPTER I Postmodernism through Levinasian Ethics to Buddhist PhilosophyCHAPTER II Levinasian Ethics and Other Postmodern Ethical TheoriesCHAPTER III Positivity toward Infinity: Levinas, Buddhism, and LiteratureCHAPTER IV Searching for a Breakthrough to the No Self or Real I: Ch’an/Seon/Zen, Levinasian Ethics, and Literary ReadingCHAPTER V A Process of Awakening in a Religious Narrative: The Book of JobCHAPTER VI Gothic Excess as the Trace of the Other or the Real I: A Levinasian and Buddhist Approach to the Terror Mood of Dracula CHAPTER VII Desire for the Infinity of the Other and the Excess of the Terror Mood in Frankenstein Conclusion: Time for the True Encounter between East and West

Lee diligently and methodically surveys the major views in postmodern ethics against the background of traditional Western philosophy, i.e., modern metaphysics of presence. This involves an erudite and informed exposition of the main French postmodern views of Levinas, Derrida, Lyotard, Deleuze and Nancy, as well as their German predecessors such as Kant, Hegel, Husserl and Heidegger…. As should be clear from our discussion so far, we can find much that is of interest in this well-executed monograph. Its arguments are of a high standard and its content is rich. It is a fitting contribution to an interdisciplinary perspective on philosophy, religion and literature...This books explores a fascinating topic on a fundamentally sound project and I recommend it to whoever is interested in comparative philosophy, Asian philosophy, East-West dialogues as well as literary critics. I also look forward to a sequel to this book in the future.