FECUNDITY AND THE BANALITY OF DEATH, A CASE OF GOODNESS BEYOND BEING: A LEVINASIAN READING

Résumé

This essay investigates the implications of fecundity for death in the thoughts of Emmanuel Levinas. Levinas deals with the notion of fecundity in his first major work, Totality and infinity where he refers to fecundity as any act goodness on behalf of the subject towards the Other that bears a future relation. He forwards two perspectives of fecundity: Firstly, as abstract biological description, e.g. a teacher fathering his student; and secondly, a non- biological construct e.g. a public officer discharging of his duties in a good way or a writer or philanthropists that affect the lives of other people. In these two perspectives, the actions impact some goodness on others. On the other hand, Levinas thinks death in three views: Firstly, as time because it occurs in time and it is a suffocation of the individual in the impossibility of the possible. This asserts the fact that the deceased loses his virile ability as death invades him. Secondly, death as a totality for when one dies, he is counted among the dead- the totality of the dead. At this time reference is made to him in the accusative. Lastly, death as will for death is not an object of one’s own will though it occurs as murder and suicide, the apex of irresponsibility, for life needs to be protected not to be destroyed. Since death is the end of physical existence, like the son that is the trans-substantiation of the father, so do abstract sons and people’s deeds immortalize the abstract fathers and progenitors respectively. This act of immortalization expresses fecundity and it guarantees goodness in and beyond being.