Abstract
In recent decades, pedagogical interest in Emmanuel Levinas’ philosophy has grown significantly (Biesta, 2006; 2022; Blumenfeld-Jones, 2016; Egéa-Kuehne, 2008; Joldersma, 2014; Todd, 2003a; Zhao, 2018): his reflections represent a challenge to the conception of subjectivity at the basis of modern educational theories (Biesta, 2003). His insights provide a glimpse of an idea of education marked by a radical responsibility towards otherness. Specifically, his critique of the relation’s reciprocity (Levinas, 2014) has great relevance for both pedagogical ethics and the ethics of educational research. In the chapter Phenomenology of Eros (Totality and Infinity), Levinas uses a powerful image, namely that of the caress: «The caress consists in seizing upon nothing […] It is not an intentionality of disclosure but of search» (Levinas, 1969, pp. 257–258). In this contribution, I discuss this Levinassian image in relation to the significance of the ethical structure of pedagogy and, specifically, of the ethical and epistemic status of educational research.