Adi Ophir
Encyclopedia
Adi Ophir is an Israel
i philosopher.
Professor Ophir teaches philosophy at the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University
. He is also a fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
where he directs an interdisciplinary research project on "Humanitarian Action in Catastrophes: The Shaping of Contemporary Political Imagination and Moral Sensibilities."
Ophir's recent book The Order of Evils offers a moral theory
that emphasizes the socially structured existential
and political nature of evil. He argues that evils, like pain, suffering, loss, and humiliation, are "superfluous evils" that can often be prevented but are not.
Analyzing seminal works by modern and postmodern philosophers such as Rousseau, Kant
, Marx, Sartre, Arendt, Foucault
, and Derrida, Ophir submits that to be moral is to care for others, and to be committed to preventing their suffering and distress.
Ophir's focus on understanding particular evils (rather than some transcendentalized Evil
) keeps his thought determinedly secular. While a deeply theoretical work, The Order of Evils is informed by Ophir's preoccupation with two major events in recent Jewish history: the Holocaust
and the Israeli occupation
of Palestine. He does not compare these two events but instead introduces a typology of disasters that locates them within the wide spectrum of calamities generated by humans to exhibit both the specificities and general patterns that subsequently emerge.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i philosopher.
Professor Ophir teaches philosophy at the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University is a public university located in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel. With nearly 30,000 students, TAU is Israel's largest university.-History:...
. He is also a fellow at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute is an academic institute in Jerusalem established in 1959 by the Van Leer family of the Netherlands.The Van Leer Institute is a center for the interdisciplinary study and discussion of issues related to philosophy, society, culture and education...
where he directs an interdisciplinary research project on "Humanitarian Action in Catastrophes: The Shaping of Contemporary Political Imagination and Moral Sensibilities."
Ophir's recent book The Order of Evils offers a moral theory
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
that emphasizes the socially structured existential
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
and political nature of evil. He argues that evils, like pain, suffering, loss, and humiliation, are "superfluous evils" that can often be prevented but are not.
Analyzing seminal works by modern and postmodern philosophers such as Rousseau, Kant
KANT
KANT is a computer algebra system for mathematicians interested in algebraic number theory, performing sophisticated computations in algebraic number fields, in global function fields, and in local fields. KASH is the associated command line interface...
, Marx, Sartre, Arendt, Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
, and Derrida, Ophir submits that to be moral is to care for others, and to be committed to preventing their suffering and distress.
Ophir's focus on understanding particular evils (rather than some transcendentalized Evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
) keeps his thought determinedly secular. While a deeply theoretical work, The Order of Evils is informed by Ophir's preoccupation with two major events in recent Jewish history: the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
and the Israeli occupation
Military occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
of Palestine. He does not compare these two events but instead introduces a typology of disasters that locates them within the wide spectrum of calamities generated by humans to exhibit both the specificities and general patterns that subsequently emerge.
Works
- Plato's Invisible Cities: Discourse and Power in the "Republic" (1990). Routledge. ISBN 0-415-03596-1
- "The Identity of the Victims and the Victims of Identity: A Critique of Zionist Ideology for a Post-Zionist Age." (2000) In Laurence Jay Silberstein (ed.), Mapping Jewish Identities (pp. 174–200). NYU Press. ISBN 0-8147-9769-5.
- 'Genocide lies behind Expulsion: a Response to Benny Morris'. Counter-Punch, 16 January 2004.
- The Order of Evils: Toward an Ontology of Morals (2005). MIT Press. Translated by Rela Mezali and Havi Carel. ISBN 1-890951-51-X
External links
- Ophir's Cohn Institute homepage
- Audio interview with Adi Ophir and Ariella Azoulay regarding their book "This Regime Which is not One - Occupation and Democracy Between the Sea and the River (1967 - )" from the Alternative Information Center
- Moran Peled, Three generations and postmodernism, Moran Peled speaks with Adi Ophir about his views on postmodernism, Eretz Acheret Magazine