Sunday, November 18, 2007

Derrida

Here's a quote from his 1968 essay Differance:

“Différance is not only irreducible to any ontological or theological--ontotheological--reappropriation, but as the very opening of the space in which ontotheology--philosophy--produces its system and its history, it includes ontotheology, inscribing it and exceeding it without return.”

5 comments:

  1. Kyle CuppNovember 19, 2007 at 7:52 AM

    I consider it a defect in myself that I am more familiar with the works of Derrida than with the writings of John Duns Scotus. Any particular works you would recommend as an introduction?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lee FaberNovember 19, 2007 at 2:53 PM

    It's a hard question as all his works are lengthy and still being edited. I think the old standards of the Hackett "Duns Scotus: Philosophical writings" and the "Duns Scotus: Metaphysician" are of little value unless one is in class having them explained by an expert. One needs longer selections to get the full flavor of his method. My #1 recommendation would be his "John Duns Scotus: A Treatise on Potency and Act, Book IX: Questions on the Metaphysics of Aristotle Book IX", from Franciscan Institute Publications. Amazon is currently out, but you can order directly from FIP. You might also take a look at his "De primo principio", also translated by allan wolter. There are numerous copies on abebooks.com. And finally, there is the "Quodlibet," one of Scotus's most polished works. It has been translated (there is no critical edition), again by allan wolter but is out of print. The latter two are probably easier to follow if you're new, but the former is more representative of Scotus's style (questions nested within questions, detailed logical analysis)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Michael SullivanNovember 20, 2007 at 3:54 PM

    Faber,

    I was going to make the same recommendations as you!

    Readers should be given fair warning that familiarity with scholastic principles and language is a necessary precondition to reading Scotus with any understanding. There are no entry-level Scotus texts.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kyle CuppNovember 21, 2007 at 8:51 PM

    Thanks for the suggestions and the cautionary advice. When time presents the opportunity to return to the medieval thinkers, I’ll probably start with Scotus’ On the Will and Morality, as that is the one text of his on our shelf, but I’ll keep my eyes open for the text you recommended.

    ReplyDelete
  5. ybr (alias ybrao a donkey)December 21, 2007 at 1:35 AM

    Learnt something new from Net.

    ReplyDelete