There is no doubt that one of the cruelest and incomprehensible events of humanity has been the Shoa, since it makes us reflect on the great uncertainty of the human being that lies in the problem of evil and the suffering of the Other. When verifying the testimonies of Primo Levi in Si esto es un hombre, we observe the crudeness and brutality to the point of nonsense. Thus, the objective of this work is to propose a closer approximation about the human behaviors and attitudes using some concepts of Emmanuel Levinas. From some fragments of Levi’s testimonies, the paradox posed by the philosopher regarding the Other is perceived, that is, how the author-protagonist faces a revelation of himself when considering the responsibility of the Me towards his neighbor. Levi’s texts, therefore, explain the human being from an alternative perspective, in which, following Levinas, the proximity or the event of face-to-face relationships is necessary to perceive the epiphany of the Infinite. In this way, some forms of intersubjectivity interpreted under the gaze of the Face will be addressed.
Hamui Sutton, S. (2023). The oppression of shame: the face understood by Levinas in If this is a Man by Primo Levi. Cuadernos Judaicos, (40), pp. 47–65. https://doi.org/10.5354/0718-8749.2023.71648
