Tombe d'Emmanuel Levinas

You are standing at the final resting place of Emmanuel Levinas, one of the most significant moral philosophers of the twentieth century. He is laid to rest here in the Parisian cemetery of Pantin, a vast and quiet landscape located just beyond the city limits. Levinas spent his life challenging the traditions of Western philosophy, arguing that our primary duty as human beings is an infinite responsibility toward the Other. He believed that the very first encounter with another person, specifically the sight of their face, places an undeniable ethical claim upon us that precedes any rational thought or political theory.