Context of the Quote

In his late lectures and essays (such as God, Death, and Time), Levinas asks: [1]

"Is not my place in being, the Da of my Dasein, already a usurpation, already a violence in respect of the other?" [1]

Here, Levinas is directly confronting Martin Heidegger's concept of Dasein (being-there, or human existence). For Heidegger, the primary human drive is the "care" for one's own being and survival. Levinas radically flips this. He argues that by simply taking up physical space, consuming resources, and existing in our own ego, we are encroaching upon, displacing, and doing an "originary" violence to the Other. My survival might literally mean another person’s deprivation. [1]

Essential Meaning

The "Usurpation" of Space: To occupy a place in the world means that someone else cannot occupy it. Your home, your food, and your security are things you possess instead of another person. [1]
The Calling into Question of the Self: For Levinas, true ethics do not begin with my freedom, but with my shame or anxiety before the face of the Other. Seeing the vulnerability of another person forces me to ask: "Do I have a right to exist while the other person suffers or dies?"
Responsibility as Radical Generosity: Because our existence is inherently a "usurpation," Levinas believes we owe a boundless, infinite responsibility to the Other. We justify our existence only through justice, hospitality, and substituting our own comfort for the needs of the Other. [1]

Would you like to explore how Levinas uses this to critique Heidegger's philosophy, or perhaps look at how fellow philosopher Jacques Derrida responded to this idea of originary violence? [1, 2]