King, Lévinas, and the Moral Anatomy of Nonviolent Transformation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14760488 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jeremy Sorgen (0000-0002-8313-421X, Science and Technology Policy Institute, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 219-238 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Religious Ethics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0384-9694 • E-ISSN: 1467-9795 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jore.12385 |
| OpenAlex | W4292466418 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 15 |
This essay overcomes the division between “principled” and “strategic” approaches to nonviolence studies by demonstrating that ethical analysis is key to understanding movement strategy. I show how the moral phenomenologies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Emmanuel Lévinas, figures usually treated by scholars of principled nonviolence, possess genuine insight for nonviolent strategists. With reference to each thinker and supporting evidence from the #BlackLivesMatter movement, I argue that nonviolent resistance makes a moral appeal through the medium of the body to the conscience of those bearing witness. Analysis of the way King combined moral reflection and strategic action recovers his legacy for the pragmatic tradition of social thought, while Lévinas's theory of the face offers additional considerations for nonviolent practitioners aiming for moral transformation at the local level. Studies that elucidate the complex moral dynamics by which nonviolent movements either succeed or fail will make the field a greater asset to practitioners
Action (physics · Appeal · Conscience · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Face (sociological concept · Field (mathematics · Political science · Resistance (ecology · Social science · Sociology · Theme (computing · Witness · Indian History and Philosophy · Law · Peace and Human Rights Education · Philosophy · War, Ethics, and Justification
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |