Abstract

Centered around the work of Emmanuel Levinas, this dissertation reassesses the relation between the concepts of totality and the Absolute in an effort to bypass certain metaphysical and ontological prejudices that have resulted in a history of violent thought and action in Western culture. This study is intended for consideration not only by the philosophical community, but by the disciplines of theology and social and political science as well. ;This dissertation is composed of two movements. First, I consider the legacy of Plato's thought and how it has determined the course of metaphysical and political inquiry. The primary question at hand is the status of the $\epsilon\pi\acute\epsilon\kappa\epsilon\iota\nu\alpha\ \tau\eta\varsigma\ o\upsilon\sigma\acute\iota\alpha\varsigma$ and how this notion affects subsequent metaphysical reflection. I approach this issue by way of examination of various contemporary interpretations of the Platonic text, viz., those of Nietzsche, Whitehead, Heidegger, Gadamer, and Levinas. In the second half of the dissertation I assess the accuracy of Hegel's logico-metaphysics primarily through the analyses of Levinas. The status of the concepts of ground and totality are brought into question. I also engage the thought of Heidegger, Adorno, and Derrida--with reference to Levinas and Hegel--in an attempt to further delineate and advance the notions of subjectivity and intersubjectivity