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I have never met anyone who so deftly unites a passion for questions, a passion for paradoxes, and a passion for all that makes life, for lack of a better word, fun than Paul. I also want to thank Paul Eisenberg, who prepared copious notes and criticisms for, as I recall, every page of the manuscript that evolved into this book.
Portions of this book were presented at conferences, and I benefited from the feedback I received from participants. I greatly benefited from presenting material at a conference on Levinas and Wittgenstein at Indiana University. My thoughts on Levinas were enriched from conversations with Jeff Kosky, David Finkelstein, Simon Critchley, Alice Crary, Simon Glendenning, and Gary Gutting. Here I need to single out Simon Critchley for special thanks. There are several moments in this book when I criticize Critchley’s writings on Levinas. The fact that I so often turn to him to formulate my own ideas indicates, however, just how pivotal a role he has played in the scholarship on Levinas. If I take issue with him, it is in terms I borrow from him. I am indebted to him for bringing to articulation so many of the debates I address in this book.
Finally, I want to thank Cambria Press. My sense is that the support and attention that Cambria gives their writers is truly exceptional in the world of academic publishing. Toni Tan went out of her way to keep me posted as to the progress of my manuscript and to recruit referees for it. I also want to thank the outstanding anonymous reader for his or her excellent responses. This book is vastly improved from the revisions he or she suggested.