The  well  known  conference  of  Paul  Ricœur ‘Love and Justice’, pronounced when he received Leopold Lucas award in 1989, shows a dialectical tension between those two notions, and searches deeper in the philosophical –and even theological– basis that reveals love as rectification and safeguard of justice; without love, justice would be cruel, utilitarian and, paradoxically, unfair, remembering us the old Roman adage: “summum ius, summa iniuria”. Moreover, Levinas, in his “Talmudic Lesson on Justice”, compiled after in New Talmudic Readings, presents a less intuitive position, but no less interesting: justice is the place of forgiveness and love, it becomes humane everything it touches, and that’s why it doesn’t need correction; a justice that needed love, had maybe never been true justice. Here lies a critic that complements and improves both, the t...

La célebre conferencia ‘Amor y justicia’ pronunciada por Paul Ricoeur cuando se le dio el premio Leopold Lucas en 1989, muestra una tensión dialéctica entre esas dos nociones y profundiza las bases filosóficas e incluso teológicas que revelan al amor como rectificación y hasta salvaguarda de la justicia; sin aquél, esta sería cruel, utilitaria y, paradójicamente, injusta, recordándonos el viejo adagio romano “summum ius, summa iniuria”. Por otra parte, Levinas en su “Lección talmúdica sobre la justicia”, compendiada después en Nuevas lecturas talmúdicas, presenta una tesis menos intuitiva pero no menos interesante: la justicia es la sede del perdón y del amor, ella vuelve humano todo lo que toca, por eso no necesita corrección; una justicia que precisara del amor tal vez nunca ha sido verdadera justicia. Aquí radica una crítica que complementa y perfecciona ...

The concept of “infinite responsibility” is central to the ethics of Emmanuel Levinas. This expression synthesizes both his phenomenological intuitions and his theological tradition. Although it is recurrent in his work, the use of “infinite” poses challenges, both due to its metaphysical and scientific implications and its difficult comprehension in everyday language. This paper will analyze and problematize the Talmudic reading “The Damages Caused by Fire,” which paradigmatically illustrates the incommensurability of responsibility, a key element in Levinasian ethics. The justification for delving into a Talmudic reading may be susceptible to criticism for its religious character and, under a superficial reading, lack philosophical rigor; however, in Levinas’s philosophy, the biblical and religious tradition is so prevalent that it often merges with the philosophical, sin...

The concept of “infinite responsibility” is central to the ethics of Emmanuel Levinas. This expression synthesizes both his phenomenological intuitions and his theological tradition. Although it is recurrent in his work, the use of “infinite” poses challenges, both due to its metaphysical and scientific implications and its difficult comprehension in everyday language. This paper will analyze and problematize the Talmudic reading “The Damages Caused by Fire,” which paradigmatically illustrates the incommensurability of responsibility, a key element in Levinasian ethics. The justification for delving into a Talmudic reading may be susceptible to criticism for its religious character and, under a superficial reading, lack philosophical rigor; however, in Levinas’s philosophy, the biblical and religious tradition is so prevalent that it often merges with the philosophical, sin...

The  well  known  conference  of  Paul  Ricœur ‘Love and Justice’, pronounced when he received Leopold Lucas award in 1989, shows a dialectical tension between those two notions, and searches deeper in the philosophical –and even theological– basis that reveals love as rectification and safeguard of justice; without love, justice would be cruel, utilitarian and, paradoxically, unfair, remembering us the old Roman adage: “summum ius, summa iniuria”. Moreover, Levinas, in his “Talmudic Lesson on Justice”, compiled after in New Talmudic Readings, presents a less intuitive position, but no less interesting: justice is the place of forgiveness and love, it becomes humane everything it touches, and that’s why it doesn’t need correction; a justice that needed love, had maybe never been true justice. Here lies a critic that complements and improves both, the t...