The Demanded Self: Levinasian Ethics and Identity in Psychology

Acknowledgments

xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS When writing a book one draws dangerously close to the edge of utter absorption. And, ironically, while writing a work whose primary goal is to challenge the self-centering orientation of Western paradigms , I must admit that the writing process did little to dislocate me from myself. Rather, it ratcheted up my anxiety and self-referential thoughts in ways that I never thought imaginable. I am thankful to the community of persons, colleagues, and family around me that both tolerated me amidst this writing process and tethered me to the love of which I speak in the following pages. I am thankful for the warmth of loved ones around me, many not directly acknowledged here. First, I wish to thank my wife, Priscilla, who has borne the burden of my stress, insecurities, and obsession with this project with graciousness, support, and encouragement. She represented for me a Levinasian self beyond what my abstractions allow me to express in the following pages. She will forever be my most precious Other. Second, I am indebted to my mentor and friend, Al Dueck, who embodies Levinas’s “wisdom of love” and sensibility of justice, responsibility, and ethics. It is rare that a student is blessed by a relationship to an advisor so formative both intellectually and personally, introducing me to Levinas’s work and reminding me of the depths of my Jewish heritage. I appreciate his patience during my dark periods and his encouraging reminders and admonitions. Third, I wish to thank Jim Brenneman, whose passion for Hebrew thought, pacifist ethics, and guidance have had great effect, even from a distance. The rigor of his research inspired and challenged this project . Fourth, I am grateful for Susannah Heschel’s willing dedication to this project, for the depth of her scholarship, for generously sharing her time, for the warmth of our exchanges, and for the seemingly xii Acknowledgments endless connections that she graciously offered. She brought her father’s work to life for me, giving further inspiration to the following pages. Fifth, I am very thankful for Linda Wagener and her passion for the practical while traversing the most abstract terrain, her stunning cross-disciplinary knowledge, and her encouraging playfulness. Sixth, I could not have accomplished this project without my best friend, Brian Becker, part brother, part sparring partner. His encouragement , readings, wisdom, and friendship have inspired and shaped my thought. My grandfather, who died shortly before I began this project, was, without comparison, my biggest fan. He wanted to know everything about what I was doing, what I was reading, and what my future held. Memory of his welcoming eyes and waving hands enlivened me with passion and excitement about this work. Emmanuel Levinas, the primary thinker behind these pages, represents a “scream in the night” (to use Heschel’s words about the prophets). I am thankful for the power of his voice and the incisiveness of his thought. He awakened an “otherwise than being” that will forever challenge my thought and practices within psychology. For his courage, I am grateful. Likewise, the life and work of Abraham Joshua Heschel is spread throughout the footnotes of this book, both literally and figuratively. His work, like Levinas’s, is an inspiring reminder of a different way of being and a calling toward “moral grandeur and spiritual audacity,” his life lived as hineni, a life lived for justice and love. I am deeply indebted to Derek George and Heather Macdonald for their thoughtful, thorough, and provocative edits and responses. Likewise, rich conversations with Philip Cushman, Frank Richardson, Marie Hoffman, Mark Freeman, Stuart Pizer, Linda Luz-Alterman, Jack Beinashowitz, Rebecca Drill, Heather Thompson-Brenner, Anne Thompson, Kenneth Reich, and George Kunz were sources of life-giving conversation and meaning in this process. Several contexts and spheres have also been an incredible source of community and assistance: First, my research group at Fuller, particularly Scott Grover, Julia Langdal, Steven Huett, Adam Ghali, Sabrina Abney, Paul Jones, and Elizabeth Welsh, have given their time, wisdom, and friendship throughout this project. Second, at the Acknowledgments xiii Danielsen Institute at Boston University, my research opportunities, clinical experiences, and incredible dialogues helped keep this project vital. Brian McCorkle, James Burns, and George Stavros were generous with time and financial resources. Enriching conversations with Carol Wintermyer, Miriam Bronstein, David Rupert, Christopher O’Rourke, Lauren Kehoe, Sarah Hassen, Denisa Husarova, Brian Grady, and Tony Gross enlivened this period of...