Ethical wwelling and the glory of bearing witness

ENThis article considers man’s attitude toward his surroundings with regard to the challenge posed to Levinas by Martin Heidegger. My aim here is to reassess the manner in which Levinas responds to and critiques Heidegger, with a focus on a category which, at first glance, may seem a strange choice for discussion: the category of “bearing witness.” Through a careful reading of the writings of Levinas and Heidegger we gain an understanding of the notion of “bearing witness” in the philosophical realm - not in the sense of a stranger giving testimony in a court of law but as an integral part of everyday life. Although both Levinas and Heidegger address this category in their writings, they each understand and employ it in very different ways.