Derrida, myth, and the impossibility of philosophy
By: Anais Spitzer
Series: Philosophy, aesthetics and cultural theory
Publisher: Continuum
Published: 2010
Place of publication: London; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 198
ISBN-13: 9781441117106; 9781441100207
Subjects: Philosophy; Myth
Description: In Derrida, Myth and the Impossibility of Philosophy, Anais N. Spitzer shows that philosophy cannot separate itself from myth since myth is an inevitable condition of the possibility of philosophy. Bombarded by narratives that terrorize and repress, we may often consider myth to be constrictive dogma or, at best, something to be readily disregarded as unphilosophical and irrelevant. However, such dismissals miss a crucial aspect of myth. Harnessing the insights of Jacques Derridaʹs deconstruction and Mark C. Taylorʹs philosophical reading of complexity theory, Derrida, Myth and the Impossibility of Philosophy provocatively reframes the pivotal relation of myth to thinking and to philosophy, demonstrating that myth's inherent ambiguity engenders vital and inescapable deconstructive propensities. Exploring myth's disruptive presence, Spitzer shows that philosophy cannot separate itself from myth. Instead, myth is an inevitable condition of the possibility of philosophy. This study provides a nuanced account of myth in the postmodern era, not only laying out the deconstructive underpinnings of myth in philosophy and religion, but establishing the very necessity of myth in the study of ideas. -- Publisher description from http://www.continuumbooks.com (Oct. 10, 2011).
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-187) and index.
Table of contents: title: 1. 'what, after, of the remain(s)...'; title: - 2. Soliciting Philosophy's Tears; title: - 3. Rend(er)ing the Pharmakon: The Would Without a Cure; title: - 4. Secreting Myth: To Think Sa Otherwise; title: - 5. Myth and the Gift, If There is Any.