Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.

Print Price: $13.50

Format:
Paperback
152 pp.
10 b/w halftones, 111 mm x 174 mm

ISBN-13:
9780192803450

Publication date:
October 2011

Imprint: OUP UK

Derrida: A Very Short Introduction

Dr. Simon Glendinning

Series : Very Short Introductions

Jacques Derrida, the French philosopher, developed his critical technique known as "deconstruction". His work is associated with ideas surrounding both post-structuralism and post-modern philosophy, and he was known to have challenged some of the unquestioned assumptions of our philosophical tradition.

In this Very Short Introduction, Simon Glendinning explores both the difficulty and significance of the work of Derrida. He presents Derrida's challenging ideas as making a significant contribution to, and providing a powerful reading of, our philosophical heritage. Defending Derrida against many of the charges that were placed against him, he attempts to show why Derrrida's work causes such extreme reactions.

Glendinning explains Derrida's distinctive mode of engagement with our philosophical tradition, and shows that this is not a merely negative thing. By exploring his most famous and influential texts, Glendinning shows how and why Derrida's work of deconstruction is inspired not by a "critical frenzy", but by a loving respect for philosophy.

Readership : General readers and students interested in or studying Derrida.

1. A picture of Derrida
2. Misunderestimating Derrida
3. Reading the logocentric heritage
4. The rehabiliation of writing
5. Law and justice
6. Politics and friendship
7. The ends of man
8. Starting over
References
Further Reading
Index

There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.

Simon Glendinning is a Reader in European Philosophy in the European Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the author of On Being with Others: Heidegger-Derrida-Wittgenstein (Routledge, 1998), The Idea of Continental Philosophy (EUP, 2006) and In the Name of Phenomenology (Routledge, 2007). He is also the editor of The Edinburgh Encyclopedia of Continental Philosophy (EUP, 1999), Arguing with Derrida (Blackwells, 2001), and (with Robert Eaglestone) Derrida's Legacies: Literature and Philosophy (Routledge, 2008). He has contributed essays to numerous books and journals and is currently working on topics in the philosophy of Europe.

Heidegger: A Very Short Introduction - Michael Inwood
Wittgenstein: A Very Short Introduction - A. C. Grayling
Foucault - Gary Gutting
Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction - Edward Craig

Special Features

Explores Derrida's main books and essays and considers his central themes to provide a comprehensive picture of his work.
Explains the theory of deconstruction and refutes the claims that it is negative and destructive.
Defends Derrida against some of the attacks from the analytical philosophical community whilst explaining why it is that his work inspires such passionate criticism.
Seeks to give the newcomer a sense of Derrida's challenge to the philosophical tradition, combined with some understanding of the range of reactions that challenge has provoked..
Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series - over three million copies sold worldwide