The Ethics of Deconstruction: Derrida and Levinas - Couverture souple

Critchley, Simon

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0631177868 ISBN 13 : 9780631177869

Editeur : Blackwell Publishers, 1992

Synopsis

In opposition to the polemics claiming that the work of Jacques Derrida is a species of nihilistic textual free play that suspends all questions of value and is therefore immoral and politically pernicious, this book argues that Derridian deconstruction can and indeed should be understood as an ethical demand, provided that ethics is understood in the particular and radical sense given to it in the work of Emmanuel Levinas. Levinas' work, whose full philosophical importance is only now beginning to be recognized, is introduced in this book. Levinas has exerted a powerful and continuous influence on the development of Derrida's thinking, and by following the textual dialogue between Levinas and Derrida, one can see how the question of ethics can be compellingly raised within deconstruction. This book reinterprets some of the central motifs of Derrida's work (the closure of metaphysics, difference, the general text) in the light of Levinas' ethical problematic and shows how the very textual practice of deconstructive reading has overriding ethical implications. The book concludes by moving from ethics to politics and assessing whether Derrida's work offers a persuasive account of the passage from ethical responsibility to political questioning and critique. The book also contains discussions of Heidegger, Husserl, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe and Jean-Luc Nancy.

A propos du livre

Revue de presse

I celebrate this third edition of the classic book on ethics and deconstruction that Critchley published over twenty years ago and which has been widely reread and reviewed both in the English-speaking world and well beyond it. This book was pathbreaking, for it started a whole line of reflection on the possible ethical implications of Derrida's work, that Derrida himself encouraged in his later writings. Critchley's book remains as crucial for the interpretation of deconstruction as it was in its original version and I arnestly encourage a careful reading of its main theses. --Ernesto Laclau, Emeritus Professor, University of Essex

On its first appearance The Ethics of Deconstruction not only helped to shape the English reception of both Levinas and Derrida, but it also contributed to a reorienting of continental philosophy toward ethical issues. The book was timely when it first appeared and has not lost any of its initial relevance today. In fact with the additional material added to this edition it is now all the more valuable. --Robert Bernasconi, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Philosophy at Penn State University

Présentation de l'éditeur

This is an expanded edition of the first book to argue for the ethical turn in Derrida's work. Simon Critchley's first book, The Ethics of Deconstruction, was originally published to great acclaim in 1992. It was the first book to argue for the ethical turn in Derrida's work and to show as powerfully as possible how deconstruction has persuasive ethical consequences that are vital to our thinking through of questions of politics and democracy. This new edition contains three new appendices and a new preface where Critchley reflects upon the origins, motivation and reception of The Ethics of Deconstruction.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Blackwell Publishers
• Date d'édition: 1992
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0631177868
• ISBN 13: 9780631177869
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 272
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible