University of Zanjan Philosophical Meditations 2228-5253 Articles in Press 2026 06 30 The relationship between ethics and politics from the perspective of Emmanuel Levinas in comparison with Aristotle&#039;s views The relationship between ethics and politics from the perspective of Emmanuel Levinas in comparison with Aristotle&#039;s views 737185 10.30470/phm.2026.2057472.2670 FA Masoumeh Bouzari بازنشسته. و مربی دانشگاه علمی کاربردی نوشهر؛ فرهنگ و هنر شماره 2 Ghasem Purhasan Professor at Allameh Tabatabaei University, Department of Philosophy 0000-0003-3665-6303 Masoumeh Bouzari Ph.D. Student of Philosophy of Art, Faculty of Law, Theology and Political Sciences, Science and Research Unit, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. 0009-0004-5199-8349 Journal Article 2025 04 09 Abstract<br /> <br /> To better understand the relationship between ethics and politics in Emmanuel Levinas’s perspective, this study conducts a comparative analysis with Aristotle’s views. In Levinas’s philosophy, by explaining the intersection of “individual responsibility” and “social justice,” the fields of ethics and politics overlap. Levinas, with his unique formulation of ethics, grants it a central role as the first philosophy, basing politics on this particular view of ethics. Thus, justice and politics find meaning through the infinite responsibility of the individual. Aristotle includes both ethics and politics under practical wisdom (phronesis), considering human happiness as a political being (zoon politikon) in the polis, where the pursuit of the highest good (eudaimonia) in the virtuous city-state fosters the individual’s moral growth. This study aims to demonstrate “ethical politics” (politics based on infinite responsibility) in Levinas’s political views and demonstrates “political ethics” (ethics convergent with socio-political happiness) in Aristotle’s moral philosophy, while enumerating their commonalities and differences. The findings can initiate research for a deeper exploration of the ethics-politics nexus, promoting political teleology alongside moral refinement of society. Abstract<br /> <br /> To better understand the relationship between ethics and politics in Emmanuel Levinas’s perspective, this study conducts a comparative analysis with Aristotle’s views. In Levinas’s philosophy, by explaining the intersection of “individual responsibility” and “social justice,” the fields of ethics and politics overlap. Levinas, with his unique formulation of ethics, grants it a central role as the first philosophy, basing politics on this particular view of ethics. Thus, justice and politics find meaning through the infinite responsibility of the individual. Aristotle includes both ethics and politics under practical wisdom (phronesis), considering human happiness as a political being (zoon politikon) in the polis, where the pursuit of the highest good (eudaimonia) in the virtuous city-state fosters the individual’s moral growth. This study aims to demonstrate “ethical politics” (politics based on infinite responsibility) in Levinas’s political views and demonstrates “political ethics” (ethics convergent with socio-political happiness) in Aristotle’s moral philosophy, while enumerating their commonalities and differences. The findings can initiate research for a deeper exploration of the ethics-politics nexus, promoting political teleology alongside moral refinement of society.