The Fearful Ethical Subject: On Fear, Moral Education, and Levinas in the Pandemic

• In Event: Contemporary Dilemmas of Ethics and Justice in Education

Abstract

The article seeks to reclaim a type of fear lost in silent omission in education, yet central to the development of an ethical subject. It distinguishes the fear described by Heidegger through the concept of befindlichkeit and fear for the other as an essential moment for ethics articulated by Levinas. It argues that the latter conception of fear has inverted the traditional assumption of the ideal ethical subject as fearless. It then examines how Levinas’s interpretation of fear might contribute to discussions on fear and responsibility in the COVID-19 pandemic. It concludes that fear-for-the-other reveals our tremendous capacity to suffer for the other, which is an aspect of emotional life that has not been identified in the general educational discourse.

Authors

• Sijin Yan, Texas A&M University

• Patrick Slattery, Texas A&M University - College Station