Deconstruction and Pragmatism - Softcover

Critchley, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415121701 ISBN 13: 9780415121705

Publisher: Routledge, 1996

Synopsis

Deconstruction and pragmatism constitute two of the major intellectual influences on the contemporary theoretical scene; influences personified in the work of Jacques Derrida and Richard Rorty. Both Rortian pragmatism, which draws the consequences of post-war developments in Anglo-American philosophy, and Derridian deconstruction, which extends and troubles the phonomenological and Heideggerian influence on the Continental tradition, have hitherto generally been viewed as mutually exclusive philosophical language games.
The purpose of this volume is to bring deconstruction and pragmatism into critical confrontation with one another through staging a debate between Derrida and Rorty, itself based on discussions that took place at the College International de Philosophie in Paris in 1993. The ground for this debate is layed out in introductory papers by Simon Critchley and Ernesto Laclau, and the remainder of the volume records Derrida's and Rorty's responses to each other's work. Chantal Mouffe gives an overview of the stakes of this debate in a helpful preface.

About this title

Review:

"Chantal Mouffe should be commended for her work in putting this excellent collection of essays together. It offers a serious challenge to rationalist conceptions of democracy and also gives readers a good idea of the conflicts and convergences between the deconstructionist and pragmatist approaches to politics."
-"American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly
"In recent years there have been some striking convergences between Pragmatism and Deconstruction. But there are also significant ways in which these philosophical orientations swerve away from each other and seem incommensurable. Chantal Mouffe's lucid introduction sets the stage for a lively exchange between Richard Rorty and Jacques Derrida. Their crossfire is enriched by the contributions of Simon Critchley and Ernest Laclau. Altogether a splendid and illuminating feast of agnostic debate."
-Richard J. Bernstein, Vera List Professor of Philosophy, Graduate Faculty, New School for Social Research

About the Author:

Simon Critchley is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Essex, Directeur de Programme at the College International de Philosophie and Humboldt Fellow at the University of Frankfurt.

Jacques Derrida (1930 2004) was director of studies at the ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales, Paris, and professor of humanities at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of many books published by the University of Chicago Press.

Ernesto Laclau is Professor of Political Theory in the Department of Government, University of Essex, and Distinguished Professor for Humanities and Rhetorical Studies at Northwestern University. He is the author of, amongst other works, Hegemony and Socialist Strategy (with Chantal Mouffe), New Reflections of the Revolution of Our Time, The Populist Reason, Contingency, Hegemony, Universality (with Judith Butler and Slavoj Zizek), and Emancipation(s).

Richard Rorty (1931 2007) was Professor of Comparative Literature and Philosophy at Stanford University.

Chantal Mouffe is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy at the University of Westminster. Her books include The Return of the Political; Hegemony and Socialist Strategy (with Ernesto Laclau); The Dimensions of Radical Democracy; Gramsci and Marxist Theory; Deconstruction and Pragmatism; The Democratic Paradox; and The Challenge of Carl Schmitt, all from Verso.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0415121701
• ISBN 13: 9780415121705
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 100