Addresses the relationship between Emmanuel Levinas and the world of ancient thought. This book explores philosophy, and themes touching on religion, mythology, metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, ethics, and politics.

Foreword by Adriaan PeperzakAcknowledgmentsAbbreviations of Works by Emmanuel LevinasTo Return in a New Way: Introduction / Silvia Benso and Brian Schroeder1. The Breathing of the Air: Presocratic Echoes in Levinas / Silvia Benso2. The Eternal and the New: Socrates and Levinas on Desire and Need / Deborah Achtenberg3. Levinas Questioning Plato on Eros and Maieutics / Francisco J. Gonzalez4. Getting under the Skin: Platonic Myths in Levinas / Tanja Stähler5. Lending Assistance Always to Itself: Levinas' Infinite Conversation with Platonic Dialogue / Michael Naas6. Ethics as First Philosophy: Aristotelian Reflections on Intelligence, Sensibility, and Transcendence / Claudia Baracchi7. Aristotle and Levinas on War and Peace: The One against the Other / Catriona Hanley8. Stoic Ethics and Totality in Light of Levinasian Alterity / Julie Piering9. Of a Non-Saying That Says Nothing: Levinas and Pyrrhonism / Pierre Lamarche10. The Time and Language of Messianism: Levinas and Saint Paul / Bettina Bergo11. Proximity in Distance: Levinas and Plotinus / John Izzi12. A Trace of the Eternal Return? Levinas and Neoplatonism / Brian Schroeder13. Ethics and Predestination in Augustine and Levinas / Thomas J. J. AltizerList of ContributorsIndex

"Thanks to the initiative of Silvia Benso and Brian Schroeder, the authors of this volume not only explore the easily forgotten dimension of Levinas' debt to some early sources of European philosophy, but also focus on the manners in which he has used these sources, to show their relevance for us." -Adriaan Peperzak, from the foreword

Thanks to the initiative of Silvia Benso and Brian Schroeder, the authors of this volume not only explore the easily forgotten dimension of Levinas' debt to some early sources of European philosophy, but also focus on the manners in which he has used these sources, to show their relevance for us.