Answer to Question #287657 in Philosophy for Yama

Question

Explain the impact for openness and generosity that comes in face to face encounter.

Answer 1

In a face-to-face interaction, persons are ethically responsible to one another. The human face, according to Lévinas, "orders and ordains" us. It invites the subject to "serve and give" to the Other. We may also see how Lévinas distinguishes ethics from morality in the face-to-face meeting. The basic context of the face-to-face interaction is ethics, whereas morality emerges afterwards as some form of, agreed-upon or otherwise, set of principles that develop from the social situation, where more than just the two people of the face-to-face meeting are present.