Political Phenomenology: John Wild and Emmanuel Levinas on the Political

Abstract

The main purpose of this essay is to renew the study of the political from a phenomenological point of view through a comparison of the thought of John Wild and Emmanuel Levinas. This paper emphasizes similarities between the two thinkers as well as differences. It concludes with a case study of the practical application of phenomenology to politics. It does so by exploring some of the political dimensions of the life-world responsible for the election of Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) to his previous position as Mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Sanders appointed Sugarman as “Commissioner of Reality” upon his election in 1981. The author wishes to point out that this was a non-paying position.