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For What Tomorrow . . .: A Dialogue
“For what tomorrow will be, no one knows,” writes Victor Hugo. This dialogue, proposed to Jacques Derrida by the historian Elisabeth Roudinesco, brings together two longtime friends who share a common history and an intellectual heritage. While their perspectives are often different, they have many common reference psychoanalysis, above all, but also the authors and works that have come to be known outside France as “post-structuralist.” Beginning with a revealing glance back at the French intellectual scene over the past forty years, Derrida and Roudinesco go on to address a number of major social and political issues. Their extraordinarily wide-ranging discussion covers topics such as immigration, hospitality, gender equality, and “political correctness”; the disordering of the traditional family, same-sex unions, and reproductive technologies; the freedom of the “subject” over and against “scientism”; violence against animals; the haunting specter of communism and revolution; the present and future of anti-Semitism (as well as that which marked Derrida’s own history) and the hazardous politics of criticizing the state of Israel; the principled abolition of the death penalty; and, to conclude, a chapter “in praise of psychoanalysis.” These exchanges not only help to situate Derrida's thought within the milieu out of which it grew, they also show more clearly than ever how this thought, impelled by a deep concern for justice, can be brought to bear on the social and political issues of our day. What emerges here above all, far from an abstract, apolitical discourse, is a call to take responsibility―for the inheritance of a past, for the singularities of the present, and for the unforeseeable tasks of the future.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
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188 people want to read
About the author
Jacques Derrida
652 books1,802 followersJacques Derrida was a French philosopher best known for developing deconstruction, a method of critical analysis that questioned the stability of meaning in language, texts, and Western metaphysical thought. Born in Algeria, he studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he was influenced by philosophers such as Heidegger, Husserl, and Levinas. His groundbreaking works, including Of Grammatology (1967), Writing and Difference (1967), and Speech and Phenomena (1967), positioned him at the center of intellectual debates on language, meaning, and interpretation.
Derrida argued that Western philosophy was structured around binary oppositions—such as speech over writing, presence over absence, or reason over emotion—that falsely privileged one term over the other. He introduced the concept of différance, which suggests that meaning is constantly deferred and never fully present, destabilizing the idea of fixed truth. His work engaged with a wide range of disciplines, including literature, psychoanalysis, political theory, and law, challenging conventional ways of thinking and interpretation.
Throughout his career, Derrida continued to explore ethical and political questions, particularly in works such as Specters of Marx (1993) and The Politics of Friendship (1994), which addressed democracy, justice, and responsibility. He held academic positions at institutions such as the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and the University of California, Irvine, and remained an influential figure in both European and American intellectual circles. Despite criticism for his complex writing style and abstract concepts, Derrida’s ideas have left a lasting impact on contemporary philosophy, literary theory, and cultural criticism, reshaping the way meaning and language are understood in the modern world.
Derrida argued that Western philosophy was structured around binary oppositions—such as speech over writing, presence over absence, or reason over emotion—that falsely privileged one term over the other. He introduced the concept of différance, which suggests that meaning is constantly deferred and never fully present, destabilizing the idea of fixed truth. His work engaged with a wide range of disciplines, including literature, psychoanalysis, political theory, and law, challenging conventional ways of thinking and interpretation.
Throughout his career, Derrida continued to explore ethical and political questions, particularly in works such as Specters of Marx (1993) and The Politics of Friendship (1994), which addressed democracy, justice, and responsibility. He held academic positions at institutions such as the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and the University of California, Irvine, and remained an influential figure in both European and American intellectual circles. Despite criticism for his complex writing style and abstract concepts, Derrida’s ideas have left a lasting impact on contemporary philosophy, literary theory, and cultural criticism, reshaping the way meaning and language are understood in the modern world.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 8, 2016
A revolution cannot be programmed. In a certain way, as the only event worthy of the name., it exceeds every possible horizon, every horizon of the possible--and therefore of potency and power.
This sumptuous collection of dialogues (as opposed to interviews as the introduction notes the
participants overlap "without fusing") is from 2001 and hovers above a number of topics: the Western Philosophical Heritage, Revolution after the fall of the USSR, Same-Sex Marriage, Adoption and the Freudian implications thereof, Animal Rights, Anti-Semitism, the Death Penalty and the Legacy of Psychoanalysis. Thus a late period Derrida speaks with historian (and avowed Lacanian) Elisabeth Roudinesco about the themes which contoured much of their intellectual careers. No need to peer within for snark or sharp disagreements, as good manners triumphed and Derrida was especially eloquent praising Mandela and speaking of the need to mitigate cruelty to animals. This is an accessible entry to later Derrida. It also provides some insights into Derrida's childhood and his defensiveness in certain situations. Such a master and always paradoxical -- Derrida so valued his privacy, while often gushing in interviews.
This sumptuous collection of dialogues (as opposed to interviews as the introduction notes the
participants overlap "without fusing") is from 2001 and hovers above a number of topics: the Western Philosophical Heritage, Revolution after the fall of the USSR, Same-Sex Marriage, Adoption and the Freudian implications thereof, Animal Rights, Anti-Semitism, the Death Penalty and the Legacy of Psychoanalysis. Thus a late period Derrida speaks with historian (and avowed Lacanian) Elisabeth Roudinesco about the themes which contoured much of their intellectual careers. No need to peer within for snark or sharp disagreements, as good manners triumphed and Derrida was especially eloquent praising Mandela and speaking of the need to mitigate cruelty to animals. This is an accessible entry to later Derrida. It also provides some insights into Derrida's childhood and his defensiveness in certain situations. Such a master and always paradoxical -- Derrida so valued his privacy, while often gushing in interviews.
June 19, 2015
Now convinced that if someone wants to get into J.D.'s thought, it should be through his interviews.
November 10, 2018
“¿De qué estará hecho el mañana?”.
Diálogo entre Jacques Derrida y Élisabeth Roudinesco muy sustancioso. Temas muy diversos: los duelos, la deconstrucción de teorías, derechos de los animales, la pena de muerte, etc realmente muy interesante la charla entre estos dos cráneos de la filosofía y el psicoanálisis.
Transcribo pequeño fragmento del final del libro:
“D.: Usted es más lacaniana que yo. Pero en efecto, si se invierte la jerarquía para atribuir a las madres el antiguo poder de los padres, eso no cambia nada.
É. R . : Nosotros luchamos por la igualdad y la emancipación. Pero la experiencia psicoanalítica muestra que el poder que ejerce la madre sobre el niño y el lactante puede resultar igualmente destructivo, desde el punto de vista del psiquismo, y hasta más temible todavía que el de los padres tiránicos. Me gustaría mucho que las mujeres, en vías de volverse omnipotentes en las sociedades democráticas, atribuyan un nuevo lugar a esos padres que aceptaron la herida narcicística del reparto de sus viejos privilegios. De no ser así, ¿qué les va a ocurrir, y qué va a ocurrir a los hombres?
Diálogo entre Jacques Derrida y Élisabeth Roudinesco muy sustancioso. Temas muy diversos: los duelos, la deconstrucción de teorías, derechos de los animales, la pena de muerte, etc realmente muy interesante la charla entre estos dos cráneos de la filosofía y el psicoanálisis.
Transcribo pequeño fragmento del final del libro:
“D.: Usted es más lacaniana que yo. Pero en efecto, si se invierte la jerarquía para atribuir a las madres el antiguo poder de los padres, eso no cambia nada.
É. R . : Nosotros luchamos por la igualdad y la emancipación. Pero la experiencia psicoanalítica muestra que el poder que ejerce la madre sobre el niño y el lactante puede resultar igualmente destructivo, desde el punto de vista del psiquismo, y hasta más temible todavía que el de los padres tiránicos. Me gustaría mucho que las mujeres, en vías de volverse omnipotentes en las sociedades democráticas, atribuyan un nuevo lugar a esos padres que aceptaron la herida narcicística del reparto de sus viejos privilegios. De no ser así, ¿qué les va a ocurrir, y qué va a ocurrir a los hombres?
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January 7, 2023L'homme serait ainsi regardé comme une machine dans un corps de chimpanzé ,et sa subjectivité ne serait que le fruit d'une illusion "incorrigible" le conduisant à se croire doté d'un libre arbitre.
Jacques Derrida " l'imprévisible liberté"
Jacques Derrida " l'imprévisible liberté"
September 18, 2023
Dialogue -parfois laborieux- dans lequel le lecteur pourra trouver des données bibliographiques ainsi que quelques éclaircissements sur de grands concepts de la psychanalyse, de la politique ou de la déconstruction. Les interventions de Roudinesco ne sont pas toujours à la hauteur.
September 23, 2017
Good intro to Derrida. Since the book is a dialogue between him and Elisabeth Roudinesco, it's easy to read, and good ol' Jackie's ideas on différance are actually approachable.
July 4, 2025
This is the first time I have truly read Derrida's book. I realize that I am actually a deconstructionist.
February 23, 2014
Eu estava me devendo a (re)leitura deste livro. Havia começado a lê-lo anos atrás e por algum motivo não cheguei ao final. Enfim, aproveitando uma rápida viagem, devorei-o de cabo a rabo na ida e na volta. É um livro de leitura ágil e que no entanto permite um mergulho de fundura razoável no pensamento de Jacques Derrida, filósofo que a historiadora Elizabeth Roudinesco meio que entrevista aqui. Digo "meio que" porque o resultado final é mais que isso: é, como diz o subtítulo, um diálogo, onde, embora a entrevistadora não queira brilhar mais que seu entrevistado, é ela própria uma gigante do pensamento francês, e debate com Derrida uma série de questões, que, embora distantes de nós quase 15 anos (a edição original foi publicada na França em 2001) são temas que nunca deixarão de ser importantes, desde a pena de morte e o anti-semitismo até os maus-tratos aos animais e as novas configurações familiares que se formam na sociedade. É um livro fundamental para estimular o pensamento, especialmente em dias tão tristes no Brasil de hoje.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews