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Preface

Mark Dooley
Affiliation:
National University of Ireland, Maynooth
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Summary

This book has two aims. First, it attempts to bring clarity to the philosophy of Jacques Derrida. Secondly, it does so by arguing that he is fundamentally concerned with the related questions of memory and identity. Our central assertion is that misunderstandings of Derrida arise because of his obscure prose style, and because few commentators have tried to draw out an underlying theme in his work. We contend that his diverse writings do contain such a theme, and that it gives them continuity and structure.

In short, this book argues that, like Plato and Hegel before him, Jacques Derrida believes that a human being's identity is built on memory. When we think about our historical origins we rely on memory to recollect whence we came. For Plato that means recalling the true nature of the self in the immaterial world of the Forms. For Hegel it means dialectically recovering the self through the various stages of consciousness. But in both cases the objective is to overcome alienation by achieving full self-awareness. Selfidentity, in other words, means reclaiming our origins through the use of memory.

For Derrida, however, recovering the self from the manifold layers of time and history is much more complex than Plato, Hegel or indeed most philosophers are prepared to concede. And despite the notorious difficulties encountered by those attempting to read him, his point is simple: we are from the beginning of existence situated at the end of a multilayered web of beliefs and practices.

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Publisher: Acumen Publishing
Print publication year: 2006

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  • Preface
  • Mark Dooley, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
  • Book: The Philosophy of Derrida
  • Online publication: 05 February 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9781844653638.001
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  • Preface
  • Mark Dooley, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
  • Book: The Philosophy of Derrida
  • Online publication: 05 February 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9781844653638.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Preface
  • Mark Dooley, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
  • Book: The Philosophy of Derrida
  • Online publication: 05 February 2013
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9781844653638.001
Available formats
×