Levi-Strauss: A Masterpiece of Chinese Translation

Author: (English) Davis, translated by Li Ruihua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: The nearness of death indicates that we are in a relationship with something absolutely other, something that is not considered a temporary regulation of alterity that we can absorb through enjoyment, but rather something whose actual existence is shaped by alterity. Therefore, death does not confirm my solitude but breaks it. In enjoyment, I am completely myself. As an egoist uninvolved with the other, I am alone but not lonely—this is a pure egoism and solitude. The face, as the face, reveals the essence of humanity. The naked face, as the face, shows me the poverty of the poor and the stranger; but this poverty and exile that claim my power and speak to me do not necessarily surrender themselves to these powers; they remain the expression of the face. The poor (the stranger) presents himself as an equal. The equality of his essential poverty lies in mentioning the "third party" that appears in the encounter—the other has long been serving this third party in poverty. The postmodern mind realizes that some issues in human and social life cannot be resolved well, that twisted tracks cannot be straightened, and that contradictions are not merely language errors to be corrected. Doubt cannot be driven away from existence, and no rational remedy can soothe (let alone heal) the suffering of morality. The postmodern mind no longer expects to find an all-encompassing, total, ultimate life formula—one without ambiguity, risk, danger, or error—but also deeply doubts any such promise. The postmodern mind accepts the view that humans can only live in this world's terrible predicament.