Re: What to make of Holden

Camille Scaysbrook (c_scaysbrook@yahoo.com)
Mon, 09 Aug 1999 10:29:37 +1000 

Jacques Derrida is, in a month or so's time, doing a speech (in a theatre
that just last week was playing my own work, coincidentally) - he must like
Australia as he turns up here every five years or so. Now, as Scottie would
know I'm a reknown Francophile. However, when even a senior lecturere at
Sydney University admits that a lot of Derrida is bollocks, *then* you have
to start worrying. I never studied him myself, he has too much of a
reputation for being downright impossible.

I'll hedge my bets on Baudrillard, tho.

Camille
verona_beach@geocities.com


Paul Kennedy wrote:
> OK... If it's "You show me yours, and I'll show you mine...."
> 
> I've read Lacan, Derridas (sp?) and Foucault....  (I had much more fun
> reading the medieval scholastic idiots whom they most resemble in
> intellectual history....)
> 
> (I've also read MOST of Chomsky--and met him six or seven times.... And
the
> ONLY time he makes sense is when he's talking about REAL life.... IE the
> books that DON'T get published in the US of A because they're deemed--by
> that country's 'revolutionary' government--to be 'subversive'.....)
> 
> Masturbation should ONLY be a last ditch defense!
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Paul
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >In a message dated 8/5/99 5:55:37 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
> >kennedyp@toronto.cbc.ca writes:
> >
> ><< 
> > Let me say from the beginning that I've never read the
post-Structuralists
> > (or whatever we're supposed to call all the bullshit that's usually
badly
> > translated from the French) or any of the other latter-day literary
> > theorists who, for my money, quite obviously enjoy masturbation much
more
> > than they enjoy sex.  What a bunch of hooey!  -- Paul>>
> >
> >I agree with just about your whole post (esp. reading other
writers...and not 
> >just one), but this gave me pause:
> >
> >First rule of intellectual honesty is that if you haven't read an
author, you 
> >don't have a right to an opinion.  It is true that much of
post-structuralism 
> >is maturbatory, but there's some pretty intelligent observations about 
> >language and how it is used too (and what our use of language means).  
> >
> >Spouting opinions about a book, an author, or a philosophy wihout
reading 
> >primary sources first -- THAT'S hooey.  No different from people
counting the 
> >number of "fuck yous" in Catcher and not bothering to read what they
mean 
> >within the context of the novel.
> >
> >Jim
> >
> >PS I've never read the archives myself :)
> >
> >


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