Abstract

This article aims to present how the philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas understands the issues of suffering and evil in the world, hardships frequently considered as obstacles to the belief in God. Breaking away from the logic of theodicies, the French-Lithuanian philosopher developed original and instigating perspectives on these themes, placing them in an eminently ethical domain. It concerns an ethic that escapes reciprocity, in a context of asymmetry, with the granting of absolute priority to the other man. Such reflections are particularly relevant in the dramatic scenario established by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has given rise to suffering, death, and several uncertainties, among which the narrative of God. The new coronavirus has sparked a crisis of global dimensions, which raises the need for a new civilizational paradigm, prioritizing principles such as cooperation, human solidarity and ethical responsibility towards others, a horizon in which Lévinas' conceptions are included.