Comparative Analysis of Levinas’s “Other” and Bataille’s “Community”: Implications for Designing Group Activities in Ethics-Oriented Curricula
Keywords:
Levinas’s Other, Bataille’s Community, Group Activities, Ethics-Oriented CurriculaAbstract
In today’s world, where ethical and social challenges have become increasingly complex, educational systems require programs that not only focus on the transmission of knowledge but also prioritize the cultivation of moral virtues and social competencies. In this regard, group activities have been recognized as an effective pedagogical method in schools, capable of facilitating the transmission and reinforcement of ethical behaviors among students. According to Levinas’s philosophy, without the existence of the “Other,” ethics loses its genuine meaning (Levinas, 1969). Bataille likewise maintains that the human psyche is not a closed domain; rather, it is an open surface that, in the early years of life, projects itself outward through a constitutive exteriority, and the individual is always situated within community (Bataille, 1988). This study was conducted using library-based sources and a descriptive–analytical method. By examining Levinas’s theory of the Other and Bataille’s concept of community within the context of curriculum planning, a conceptual model was developed. The findings indicate that applying the theoretical approaches of the “Other” and “Community” to the design of group activities in ethics-oriented curriculum planning can contribute to the development of students’ sense of responsibility, empathy, and social skills. Ultimately, this article offers recommendations for educational policymakers to reconsider curricular content and instructional methods in order to take practical steps toward educating a morally responsible generation.
Downloads
References
1. Aghazadeh A. Comparative education: Organization for Study and Compilation of Humanities Books (SAMT); 2022.
2. Kamari E, Nourouzi H, Shafiei HR, editors. Designing an ethics-centered curriculum model and its impact on the personal and social flourishing of students2024: Hamadan.
3. Soleimani S, Khorgami M, Moradipour S, editors. The effects of supplementary curricular activities on the individual and collective development of learners in schools2025: Bushehr.
4. Chekan M, Mardanpour M, editors. Group activities in the classroom and their impact on promoting moral values2025: Bushehr.
5. Farahmarzi P, Fazeli Kolareh S, Behzadi Pour N, Ghobadi Z, editors. The role of group activities in teaching ethical behaviors of students in schools2024: Hamadan.
6. Zhao G. Levinas and the philosophy of education. Educational Philosophy and Theory. 2016;4(48):323-30. doi: 10.1080/00131857.2015.1041007.
7. Bagheri K, Rahnama A. The nature of responsibility in education from the perspective of Emmanuel Levinas. Research in Educational Issues. 2018;60(2):119-38.
8. Bozorgi A, Bagheri K, Rahnama A. The nature of responsibility in education from the perspective of Emmanuel Levinas. Journal of Research in Educational Issues. 2018;60(2):119-38.
9. Elicor P. Emmanuel Levinas and Matthew Lipman: Towards a critique of the totalizing tendency in formal education. Prajñā Vihāra Journal of Philosophy and Religion. 2016;17(2):59-78.
10. Momeni N. Analyzing the role of anthropology in professional ethics. Ethics in Science and Technology. 2016;10(4):17-26.
11. Lijun H, Jingxin P. Levinas on the Ethics of the Other. Philosophy Study. 2024;14(1):16-21. doi: 10.17265/2159-5313/2024.01.003.
12. Peter OM. Emmanuel Levinas' Notion of Substitution as an Ethics of Responsibility for the Other. Sapientia Journal of Philosophy. 2023;18:82-91.
13. Rastai H, Faramarz Gharamaleki A. "Substitution" in Levinas and "Replacement" in empathy: Two different approaches in encountering the other. Philosophical-Theological Research. 2021;23(4):5-22.
14. Seyyad Mansour A. Levinas's narrative of moral responsibility as an embodied reality: Inevitable and non-symmetric. Journal of Cognition. 2017;77:31-45.
15. Rezaei M, Khademi M, Eskandari M. Human rights in the mirror of the other: The phenomenology of human rights in Emmanuel Levinas's thought. Quarterly Journal of People's Rights Studies. 2025;55(1):720-41.
16. Jowari MH, Asadollahi AS, Misbahi M. A comparative study of the position of the other in the emotional relationships of characters in "Madame Bovary" by Gustave Flaubert and "Two Landscapes" by Ghazaleh Alizadeh based on Emmanuel Levinas's theory. Quarterly Journal of Comparative Literature Studies. 2019;7(2):32-50.
17. Razaghi R. Examining the "significant other" in the novels "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and "The Husband of Ahoo Khanum" based on Emmanuel Levinas's theory: Master's thesis, Birjand University, Faculty of Literature and Humanities; 2022.
18. Samadieh M, Yaali M. Examining and explaining the position of the "other" in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic. Quarterly Journal of Religious Studies and Effectiveness. 2021;2(2):1-15.
19. Oli M. Discover others with Levinas: Tehran: Ney Publication; 2009.
20. Olia M. Discovering the other alongside Levinas: Tehran: Ney Publishing; 2025.
21. Rouhi M. A comparative study of the concept of the other in the works of Simin Behbahani and Ghada Al-Samman: Master's thesis, Birjand University, Faculty of Literature and Humanities; 2024.
22. Ritzer G. Social Theory (general): SAGE Publications, Inc.; 2005.
23. Pawlett W. Georges Bataille: The Sacred and Society (Key Sociologists): Routledge; 2019.
24. Bataille G. The Accursed Share: An Essay on General Economy: New York: Zone Books; 1988. 1-168 p.
25. Bataille G. Erotism: Death and Sensuality: Trans. Mary Dalwood. San Francisco: City Lights; 1986.
26. Ramos Mejía T. The Imperative of Co-existence: On Technique in Georges Bataille's Social Theory. Technophany. 2025;3(1):1-22. doi: 10.54195/technophany.19219.
27. Simon N. Challenges pre-school teachers face in the implementation of the early childhood curriculum in the Cape Coast Metropolis: Master's thesis, University of Cape Coast; 2023.
28. Yari Gholi B. The ethics of the other according to Levinas and its implications in education. Quarterly Journal of Ethics in Science and Technology. 2020;15(1):8-14.
29. Cook D. The More-Than-Human Other of Levinas's Totality & Infinity. Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy. 2022;30(1):58-78. doi: 10.5195/jffp.2022.1008.
30. Pimentel D. The Agency of the Other and the Question of Violence: Otherwise than Levinas. Philosophy International Journal. 2023;6(1):1-10. doi: 10.23880/phij-16000S1-009.
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mohammad Gholami Paji (Author); Seyedeh Akram Ashabi; Vahid Fallah (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
