An Approach of Emmanuel Lévinas' Ethics Regarding Social Work

Abstract

The goal of this article is to expose further insight into Emmanuel Lévinas’ ethics, and link their approach to Social Work. With this purpose in mind, we have divided the article into four sections. In the first section, we will briefly put forward some details regarding the characteristics of his work, the main notions of his work, the basis of which will serve to expose his ethical proposal. In the second part, we will explain the origins of Social Work and the Social Service Organizations and the Settlements in its rise to become a theoretical discipline in its own right. Finally, we will establish the approach of Lévinas’ ethics concerning Social Work, and the influence of these ethics upon some contemporary perspectives. All will be done using a historical-systematic methodology, aiming to analyze the entirety of E. Lévinas’ work, as well as some of the most significant works of ethics in the field of social intervention.