"the Other"

In my Shakespeare class we have begun to read The Merchant of Venice and within this play there resides a fascinating character, Shylock. He is a Jewish money-lender in Venice who, though portrayed as the villain, also is the victim of the society he lives in. In literature, such a character is termed "the Other". This character is an outsider in their society, perhaps not just physically, but also intellectually, spiritually, and/or emotionally.

Emmanuel Levinas is the contemporary philosopher that pioneered this idea. He takes it one step further, saying that all aspects of our lives are based on our relationships with "the Other"; the very presence of this person challenges our normal patterns and possession of the world we live in. Basically, those who are different from us almost define us, in what we are not and how we respond to those perceived differences. This reminded me of the idea mentioned in class on Tuesday of "Hobby Horses" from Laurence Sterne's book; it is the concept that we all view the world with our own biases, lenses, quirks, and experiences. An avid athlete will constantly make metaphors to their sport (Kurt is a good example of this). A pilot will always relate experiences to airplanes and such (President Uchtdorf). I tend to view all things in relation to love. I think you get the point.

Furthermore, in the Preliminary Discourse on the Encyclopedia of Diderot, the point is made that " We receive direct knowledge immediately, without any operation of our will; it is the knowledge which finds all the doors of our souls open, so to speak, and enters without resistance and without effort. The mind acquires reflective knowledge by making use of direct knowledge, unifying and combining it." The Royal Society was trying to figure out how to acquire both kinds of knowledge, just as we are today in our universities and chat rooms. I think our challenge, however, is facing "the Other" as we attempt to see other perspectives and paradigms outside our comfort zone.