Abstract

Who is the Other? The question is seldom asked as such by Levinas, because the concept of identity reduces the Other to the Same. The face is beyond identity, as it transcends the worldly appearance of the Other and any context that would give meaning to its call. However, we argue that Levinas does not entirely reject the concept of identity applied to the Other. The true identity of the Other comes with the third party: the subject must judge the Other’s response to the face in order to enforce justice. That very response is the true meaning of the Other’s identity, although such an identity inevitably betrays the Other’s singularity.