The conception of the Other has long been a problem for philosophers. Emmanuel Levinas, best known for his attention to the issue argued that the voyages of Odysseus represent the very nature of Western philosophy : "His adventure in the world is nothing but a return to his native land, a complacency with the Same, a misrecognition of the Other." In this text Francois Hartog examines the truth of Levinas' assertion and, in the process, uncovers a different picture. Drawing on a range of authors and texts, Hartog looks at accounts of actual travellers, as well as the way travel is used as a trope throughout ancient Greek literature, and finds that, instead of misrecognition, the Other is viewed with doubt and awe in the Homeric tradition. In fact, he argues, "The Odyssey" played a crucial role in shaping this attitude in the Greek mind, serving as inspiration for voyages in which new encounters caused the Greeks to revise their concepts of self and other.

Book Information
ISBN 9780226318530
Author Francois Hartog
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press