The Origins of Responsibility François Raffoul T h e Or igi ns of R e sponsi bi l it y St u di e s i n Con t i n en ta l T hought John Sallis, editor Consulting Editors Robert Bernasconi Rudolph Bernet John D. Caputo David Carr Edward S. Casey Hubert Dreyfus Don Ihde David Farrell Krell Lenore Langsdorf Alphonso Lingis William L. McBride J. N. Mohanty Mary Rawlinson Tom Rockmore Calvin O. Schrag † Reiner Schürmann Charles E. Scott Thomas Sheehan Robert Sokolowski Bruce W. Wilshire David Wood The Origins of Responsibility Fr a nçois R a ffou l Indiana University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA www.iupress.indiana.edu Telephone ordersâ•… 800-842-6796 Fax ordersâ•… 812-855-7931 Orders by e-mailâ•…
[email protected] © 2010 by François Raffoul All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Â� Publication Data Raffoul, François, date â•… The origins of responsibility / Â�François Raffoul. â•…â•… p. cm. — (Studies in Continental thought) â•… Includes bibliographical references and index. â•… ISBN 978-0-253-35438-9 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-22173-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Responsibility. 2. Continental philosophy. I. Title. â•… BJ1451.R34 2010 â•… 170—dc22 2009040027 1 2 3 4 5 15 14 13 12 11 10 Pa r a M er i Con t en ts · Acknowledgments ╇ ·â•‡ ix · List of Abbreviations ╇ ·â•‡ xi Introduction The Origins of Responsibility ·â•‡ 1 one Aristotle: Responsibility as Voluntariness╇ ·â•‡ 39 two Kant: Responsibility as Spontaneity of the Subject╇ ·â•‡ 58 three Nietzsche’s Deconstruction of Accountability╇ ·â•‡ 80 four Sartre: Hyperbolic Responsibility╇ ·â•‡ 121 five Levinas’s Reversal of Responsibility╇ ·â•‡ 163 six Heidegger’s Originary Ethics╇ ·â•‡ 220 seven Heidegger: The Ontological Origins of Responsibility╇ ·â•‡ 242 eight Derrida: The Impossible Origins of Responsibility╇ ·â•‡ 282 Conclusion The Future of Responsibility ╇ ·â•‡ 300 · Notes ╇ ·â•‡ 305 · Index ╇ ·â•‡ 331 Ack now l edgm en ts