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Debating Derrida
'There is nothing outside the text.' Possibly no single statement has caused such a storm in critical theory as this famous observation by the French philosopher, Jacques Derrida. Niall Lucy examines three key terms-text, writing and diffrance-as they are used in three famous Derrida's disputes over speech-acts with John R. Searle, over discourse with Michel Foucault and over apartheid. Lucy also takes up the issue of Derrida's relationship to postmodernism and questions the 'political imperative' of the need to justify philosophy and the humanities in general according to a notion of their 'usefulness'.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
4 people want to read
About the author
Niall Lucy
19 books4 followersNiall Lucy is a research fellow in the humanities at Curtin University of Technology. He is the author of A Derrida Dictionary and Postmodern Literary Theory.
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March 31, 2020
Jacques Derrida is a famously, and often willfully, difficult writer. His obscurity, his 'misunderstandings', his neologisms, his refusal to sum up his arguments in clear theses -- all are key parts of his 'project' which, nonetheless, often frustrate new readers. For skeptics liable to label Derrida a charlatan, and for curious readers who may not have time to cross-reference Heidegger and Saussure, this book is the "out with it!" defense of Derrida's philosophy you've asked for.
Several common myths about Derrida's work are cleanly put to rest here, including his all-too-casual association with Michel Foucault. The famous debate with John Searle receives ample treatment, enough to merit consideration as its own foray into the 'analytic-continental' divide. Unlike many other discussions around Derrida, Lucy also refuses to shy away from some of the political critiques of the philosopher's work, including the critical assertion that deconstruction amounts to an apolitical academic game. The passages defending Derrida's reflections on the term "apartheid" are particularly provocative and interesting.
Lucy is clearly in Derrida's camp, and readers should not approach this text as an 'explainer' or neutral 'introduction'. However, Lucy does provide clear positions on Derrida's various arguments and observations, which can be hard to come by elsewhere in the discourse. While not a substitute for Derrida's work, Debating Derrida can be treated as an essential supplement for those picking up Of Grammatology or Margins of Philosophy for the first time.
Several common myths about Derrida's work are cleanly put to rest here, including his all-too-casual association with Michel Foucault. The famous debate with John Searle receives ample treatment, enough to merit consideration as its own foray into the 'analytic-continental' divide. Unlike many other discussions around Derrida, Lucy also refuses to shy away from some of the political critiques of the philosopher's work, including the critical assertion that deconstruction amounts to an apolitical academic game. The passages defending Derrida's reflections on the term "apartheid" are particularly provocative and interesting.
Lucy is clearly in Derrida's camp, and readers should not approach this text as an 'explainer' or neutral 'introduction'. However, Lucy does provide clear positions on Derrida's various arguments and observations, which can be hard to come by elsewhere in the discourse. While not a substitute for Derrida's work, Debating Derrida can be treated as an essential supplement for those picking up Of Grammatology or Margins of Philosophy for the first time.
Displaying 1 of 1 review