Jacques Derrida
At the end is a link to the best brief capsule of Derrida I have read yet, though have not read them all. I must say I have been astounded at the dearth of remembrance for a man who is not just an immensely important philosophic figure (no doubt one of the most important of the 20th century), but a man who also was tremendously influential on American life at all levels. Anyone who has had their eyes and ears open in American universities over the last 30+ years could not help but here the persistent echo of Derrida's '66 lecture "Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences." "Deconstruction" has even been popularized and appeared in the general discourse and in the popular arts.
I have encountered his fascinating, and more often frustratingly abstruse, work at almost every turn...even in that bulwark of American Philistine indifference, the law school. What was Derrida's impact on me intellectually? I am certain it is more than I know, just as I am certain that it is still sinking in. I have only begun to directly confront his work, and as a beginning it is most fair to say I have not yet begun!
I must say that the passing of Jacques Derrida has hit me rather hard and I cannot really put my finger on why. I suspect it is because I fear it is the beginning of a death much larger than this particular one, and I will leave the reader to guess what I feel has begun to breathe heavily in the face of its mortality with the passing of a great 20th century philosopher. In any case, here is the link...
http://chronicle.com/free/2004/10/2004101102n.htm
I have decided to include another I have just finished reading, much better than the first I think. Also I want to point out the quote it finishes on. It mentions a collections of eulogies that appeared in English under the title The Work of Mourning, but in French Chaque fois unique, la fin du monde...it translates, "Each time unique, the end of the world." How exceptionally beautiful!
http://books.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,11617,1324460,00.html
I have encountered his fascinating, and more often frustratingly abstruse, work at almost every turn...even in that bulwark of American Philistine indifference, the law school. What was Derrida's impact on me intellectually? I am certain it is more than I know, just as I am certain that it is still sinking in. I have only begun to directly confront his work, and as a beginning it is most fair to say I have not yet begun!
I must say that the passing of Jacques Derrida has hit me rather hard and I cannot really put my finger on why. I suspect it is because I fear it is the beginning of a death much larger than this particular one, and I will leave the reader to guess what I feel has begun to breathe heavily in the face of its mortality with the passing of a great 20th century philosopher. In any case, here is the link...
http://chronicle.com/free/2004/10/2004101102n.htm
I have decided to include another I have just finished reading, much better than the first I think. Also I want to point out the quote it finishes on. It mentions a collections of eulogies that appeared in English under the title The Work of Mourning, but in French Chaque fois unique, la fin du monde...it translates, "Each time unique, the end of the world." How exceptionally beautiful!
http://books.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,11617,1324460,00.html
1 Comments:
What is the "undeconstructible"?!?!
When I read that I think my brain exploded! This only confirms my suspicion that all the great philosophers of the 20th century are mystics!! I wouldn't have it any other way.
That is a very beautiful line. Mourning is an interesting topic. The bes academic book I have ever read is about Mourning. I even wrote the author at Berkeley to tell him how moved I was by his book.
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