Dana Hollander
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804755214
- eISBN:
- 9780804769976
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804755214.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This is a combined study of the philosophies of Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) and Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929) that explores the question: How may we account for the possibility of philosophy, of ...
More
This is a combined study of the philosophies of Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) and Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929) that explores the question: How may we account for the possibility of philosophy, of universalism in thinking, without denying that all thinking is also idiomatic and particular? The book traces Derrida's interest in this topic, particularly emphasizing his work on “philosophical nationality” and his insight that philosophy is challenged in a special way by its particular “national” instantiations and that, conversely, discourses invoking a nationality comprise a philosophical ambition, a claim to being “exemplary.” Taking as its cue Derrida's readings of German-Jewish authors and his ongoing interest in questions of Jewishness, it pairs his philosophy with that of Franz Rosenzweig, who developed a theory of Judaism for which election is essential and who understood chosenness in an “exemplarist” sense as constitutive of human individuality as well as of the Jews' role in universal human history.Less
This is a combined study of the philosophies of Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) and Franz Rosenzweig (1886–1929) that explores the question: How may we account for the possibility of philosophy, of universalism in thinking, without denying that all thinking is also idiomatic and particular? The book traces Derrida's interest in this topic, particularly emphasizing his work on “philosophical nationality” and his insight that philosophy is challenged in a special way by its particular “national” instantiations and that, conversely, discourses invoking a nationality comprise a philosophical ambition, a claim to being “exemplary.” Taking as its cue Derrida's readings of German-Jewish authors and his ongoing interest in questions of Jewishness, it pairs his philosophy with that of Franz Rosenzweig, who developed a theory of Judaism for which election is essential and who understood chosenness in an “exemplarist” sense as constitutive of human individuality as well as of the Jews' role in universal human history.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804755214
- eISBN:
- 9780804769976
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804755214.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter examines the themes pursued by Jacques Derrida in the first seminar cycle on philosophical nationality in 1984–85. These include the conceptions of language involved in and implied by ...
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This chapter examines the themes pursued by Jacques Derrida in the first seminar cycle on philosophical nationality in 1984–85. These include the conceptions of language involved in and implied by discourses of national affirmation and the idea that while national entities are paradoxical in their simultaneous aspiration to particularity and universality, these paradoxes yield an ethical responsibility for such entities to transform themselves and open themselves up to what they are not. The chapter also argues that Derrida can be considered as mobilizing a Levinasian understanding of ethical responsibility as election to capture the ethical injunction which follows from exemplarism.Less
This chapter examines the themes pursued by Jacques Derrida in the first seminar cycle on philosophical nationality in 1984–85. These include the conceptions of language involved in and implied by discourses of national affirmation and the idea that while national entities are paradoxical in their simultaneous aspiration to particularity and universality, these paradoxes yield an ethical responsibility for such entities to transform themselves and open themselves up to what they are not. The chapter also argues that Derrida can be considered as mobilizing a Levinasian understanding of ethical responsibility as election to capture the ethical injunction which follows from exemplarism.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804755214
- eISBN:
- 9780804769976
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804755214.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this book, which is about the views of philosophers Jacques Derrida and Franz Rosenzweig on the concept of exemplarity and chosenness. The book ...
More
This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this book, which is about the views of philosophers Jacques Derrida and Franz Rosenzweig on the concept of exemplarity and chosenness. The book addresses Derrida's question on how to account for the possibility of philosophy, of universalism in thinking, without denying that all thinking is also idiomatic and particular, with a focus on his “philosophical nationality” project. It also examines how Rosenzweig arrived at his core insights about chosenness as constitutive both of human individuality and of Jewish existence.Less
This introductory chapter discusses the theme of this book, which is about the views of philosophers Jacques Derrida and Franz Rosenzweig on the concept of exemplarity and chosenness. The book addresses Derrida's question on how to account for the possibility of philosophy, of universalism in thinking, without denying that all thinking is also idiomatic and particular, with a focus on his “philosophical nationality” project. It also examines how Rosenzweig arrived at his core insights about chosenness as constitutive both of human individuality and of Jewish existence.
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804755214
- eISBN:
- 9780804769976
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804755214.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter traces how Jacques Derrida developed his thinking about universality and particularity in his work on questions of language, and explores how he launched a new “thematization” of ...
More
This chapter traces how Jacques Derrida developed his thinking about universality and particularity in his work on questions of language, and explores how he launched a new “thematization” of language based on his “Introduction” to Edmund Husserl's “The Origin of Geometry.” It suggests that this thematization led to insights about the interplay of singularity and universality in language, especially with respect to proper names and the question of translation. The chapter also considers the influence of Derrida's work on linguistic phenomena on his philosophical nationality project.Less
This chapter traces how Jacques Derrida developed his thinking about universality and particularity in his work on questions of language, and explores how he launched a new “thematization” of language based on his “Introduction” to Edmund Husserl's “The Origin of Geometry.” It suggests that this thematization led to insights about the interplay of singularity and universality in language, especially with respect to proper names and the question of translation. The chapter also considers the influence of Derrida's work on linguistic phenomena on his philosophical nationality project.