Re: Derrida and Habermas on the same team?

Jim,

"Jacques Derrida, a famous postmodernist..."

Who writes such things?

Derrida, of course, has argued in favor of very specific and very explicit
types of "constructive activism" for a very long time -- going as far back as
his work on education with GREPH in the mid 1970's and his writings about South
Africa in the mid 1980's. That anyone should be surprised that he is now
commenting on the current political questions and the fate of Europe in such a way
is truly bewildering. Especially since he published a book back in 1992
entitled The Other Heading: Reflections on Today's Europe, on these very questions.

It really is, by the way, a very interesting book, and much more complex and
thoughtful than the sketch of ideas provided in this little cocktail piece
from the National Post.

And yes, although D. and H. disagree about a great many things, and
especially about a great many things concerning the tradition of European philosophy,
they are certainly more alike than different when it comes to questions of
terrorism and geo-politics. And there can be no doubt that Derrida's own
experiences growing up in Algeria have something to do with much of his own writings
on the matter. But to understand that, one would have to read Circumfession,
the essay which makes up one half of the edition written with Geoff Bennington
entitled Jacques Derrida.

So here are at least five important texts to look at to see what Derrida has
actually written about such things, in addition to the one mentioned in the
cited piece.

See:

The Other Heading: Reflections on Today's Europe, translated by Pascale-Anne
Brault and Michael B. Nass, Indiana UP, 1992.

"Racism's Last Word" in Critical Inquiry, translated by Peggy Kamuf, vol 12,
1985, pp 290-299.

"Declarations of Independence." in New Political Science, no 15, Summer
1896, pp 7-15.

"The Laws of Reflection: Nelson Mandela in Admiration" in For Nelson Mandela,
Seaver Books, 1987.

and "Circumfession," in Jacques Derrida, with Geoffrey Bennington. University
of Chicago Press, 1993.

If you want to see the evolution of JD's thoughts on such matters and
understand his current positions, these would be a good place to start.

All the best,

--John

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Received on Sat Aug 9 11:24:27 2003