Alphonso Lingis
Encyclopedia
Alphonso Lingis is an American
philosopher, writer
and translator
, currently Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University
. His areas of specialization include phenomenology, existentialism
, modern philosophy
, and ethics
.
in Chicago
, then pursued graduate study at the storied Catholic University of Leuven
in Belgium
. His doctoral dissertation, written under distinguished scholar Alphonse de Waelhens, was a discussion of the French phenomenologists Maurice Merleau-Ponty
and Jean-Paul Sartre
. Returning to the United States
, Lingis joined the faculty at Duquesne University
in Pittsburgh
, quickly gaining a reputation as the preeminent English translator of Merleau-Ponty and Emmanuel Levinas
. In the mid-1960s he moved to Penn State University, where he worked diligently at his translation projects and published numerous scholarly articles on the history of philosophy. During this period, he also began the habit of wide-ranging world travel that leaves a deep stamp on all of his work.
His debut as a book author came in 1983, with Excesses. It combined anthropological scenes with numerous references to the history of philosophy, and marks the emergence of his mature writing style, which alternates between lyrical and dark. In The Imperative (1998), his most systematic book, Lingis offers his own original criticism of phenomenology. In his view, phenomenology is excessively dominated by holism
, overemphasizing the interconnectedness of all regions and objects in the world. By contrast, Lingis holds that the world is made up of numerous self-contained and mutually external levels, to which humans must adjust their perceptions and ideas. He also argues that phenomenology is dominated by the Gestalt psychology
model of figures appearing against a background. Fusing Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception with the ethics of Levinas, Lingis contends that ethical imperatives come not only from other humans, but also from animals, plants, and even inanimate objects.
Lingis has had wide success as a public lecturer due both to his captivating style of writing and also the performance art
atmosphere of his lectures. During public talks he generally appears in costume or speaks amidst strange background music or recorded screams, often in total darkness. Throughout his years at Penn State, he was also well known as a classic college town cult celebrity, welcoming students to a strange home filled with rare birds, dangerous fish and insects, and numerous third world artifacts. In this period his travels shifted increasingly from Europe to the developing world, with especial bases in Bangkok
and Rio de Janeiro
, and most recently Africa
. In recent years he has also renewed contact with his ancestral heritage, reaching a certain degree of prominence in Lithuania
. Now retired from Penn State, Lingis lives near Baltimore
, where he continues to write books similar to his earlier works. His books have been translated into French
and Turkish
, among other languages. In the spring of 2004 the first college course on Lingis was offered at Towson University in Towson, Maryland, taught by Wolfgang W. Fuchs co-editor of "Encounters with Lingis" (2003).
Translated the following key texts into English
:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
philosopher, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, currently Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
. His areas of specialization include phenomenology, existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
, modern philosophy
Modern philosophy
Modern philosophy is a type of philosophy that originated in Western Europe in the 17th century, and is now common worldwide. It is not a specific doctrine or school , although there are certain assumptions common to much of it, which helps to distinguish it from earlier philosophy.The 17th and...
, and ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
.
Career
Lingis attended Loyola UniversityLoyola University Chicago
Loyola University Chicago is a private Jesuit research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1870 under the title St...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, then pursued graduate study at the storied Catholic University of Leuven
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. His doctoral dissertation, written under distinguished scholar Alphonse de Waelhens, was a discussion of the French phenomenologists Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Maurice Merleau-Ponty was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Karl Marx, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger in addition to being closely associated with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir...
and Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
. Returning to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Lingis joined the faculty at Duquesne University
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, quickly gaining a reputation as the preeminent English translator of Merleau-Ponty and Emmanuel Levinas
Emmanuel Lévinas
Emmanuel Levinas was a Lithuanian-born French Jewish philosopher and Talmudic commentator.-Life:Emanuelis Levinas received a traditional Jewish education in Lithuania...
. In the mid-1960s he moved to Penn State University, where he worked diligently at his translation projects and published numerous scholarly articles on the history of philosophy. During this period, he also began the habit of wide-ranging world travel that leaves a deep stamp on all of his work.
His debut as a book author came in 1983, with Excesses. It combined anthropological scenes with numerous references to the history of philosophy, and marks the emergence of his mature writing style, which alternates between lyrical and dark. In The Imperative (1998), his most systematic book, Lingis offers his own original criticism of phenomenology. In his view, phenomenology is excessively dominated by holism
Holism
Holism is the idea that all the properties of a given system cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone...
, overemphasizing the interconnectedness of all regions and objects in the world. By contrast, Lingis holds that the world is made up of numerous self-contained and mutually external levels, to which humans must adjust their perceptions and ideas. He also argues that phenomenology is dominated by the Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology or gestaltism is a theory of mind and brain of the Berlin School; the operational principle of gestalt psychology is that the brain is holistic, parallel, and analog, with self-organizing tendencies...
model of figures appearing against a background. Fusing Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception with the ethics of Levinas, Lingis contends that ethical imperatives come not only from other humans, but also from animals, plants, and even inanimate objects.
Lingis has had wide success as a public lecturer due both to his captivating style of writing and also the performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
atmosphere of his lectures. During public talks he generally appears in costume or speaks amidst strange background music or recorded screams, often in total darkness. Throughout his years at Penn State, he was also well known as a classic college town cult celebrity, welcoming students to a strange home filled with rare birds, dangerous fish and insects, and numerous third world artifacts. In this period his travels shifted increasingly from Europe to the developing world, with especial bases in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
and Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, and most recently Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. In recent years he has also renewed contact with his ancestral heritage, reaching a certain degree of prominence in Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. Now retired from Penn State, Lingis lives near Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, where he continues to write books similar to his earlier works. His books have been translated into French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, among other languages. In the spring of 2004 the first college course on Lingis was offered at Towson University in Towson, Maryland, taught by Wolfgang W. Fuchs co-editor of "Encounters with Lingis" (2003).
Works
- Excesses: Eros and Culture (1983)
- Libido: The French Existential Theories (1985)
- Phenomenological Explanations (1986)
- Deathbound Subjectivity (1989)
- The Community of Those Who Have Nothing in Common (1994)
- Abuses (1994)
- Foreign Bodies (1994)
- Sensation: Intelligibility in Sensibility (1995)
- The Imperative (1998)
- Dangerous Emotions (1999)
- Trust (2004)
- Body Transformations (2005)
- The First Person Singular (2007)
- Wonders Seen in Forsaken Places: An essay on the photographs and the process of photography of Mark Cohen (2010)
- Contact [photographs] (2010)
- Violence and Splendor (2011)
Translated the following key texts into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
:
- Levinas, De l'existence à l'existant (1948)
- Levinas, Totalité et infini: essai sur l'extériorité (1961)
- Levinas, Autrement qu'être ou au-delà de l'essence (1974)
- Merleau-Ponty, Le visible et l'Invisible (1964)
- Pierre Klossowski, Sade, mon prochain (1947)