Testing the Limit: Derrida, Henry, Levinas, and the Phenomenological Tradition (Cultural Memory in the Present)

In exploring the nature of excess relative to a phenomenology of the limit, Testing the Limit claims that phenomenology itself is an exploration of excess. What does it mean that "the self" is "given"? Should, we see it as originary; or rather, in what way is the self engendered from textual practices that transgress-or hover around and therefore within-the threshold of phenomenologial discourse? This is the first book to include Michel Henry in a triangulation with Derrida and Levinas and. the first to critique Levinas on the basis of his interpolation of philosophy and religion. Sebbah claims that the textual origins of phenomenology determine, in their temporal rhythms, the nature of the subjectivation on which they focus. He situates these considerations within the broader picture of the state of contemporary French phenomenology (chiefly the legacy of Merleau-Ponty) in order to show that these three thinkers share a certain "family resemblance," the identification of which reveals something about the traces of other phenomenological families. It is by testing the limit within the context of traditional phenomenological concerns about the appearance of subjectivity and ipseity that Derrida, Henry, and Levinas radically reconsider phenomenology and that French phenomenology assumes its present form. Book jacket Acknowledgments p. ix Introduction p. 1 Part I Toward a Critique of Phenomenological Rationality p. 15 1 Research p. 17 2 Intentionality and Non-Givenness p. 34 3 The Question of the Limit p. 58 Part II The Frontier of Time p. 67 1 At the Limits of Intentionality: Michel Henry and Emmanuel Levinas as Readers of On the Phenomenology of the Consciousness of Internal Time p. 75 2 Anticipating Phenomenology: Jacques Derrida and Jean-Luc Marion, the Impossible and Possibility p. 88 1 The Time of Ordinary Phenomena and Phantoms (Jean-Toussaint Desanti; Jacques Derrida) p. 88 2 The Impossibility of the Gift: Within the Extreme Possibility of Givenness (Jacques Derrida; Jean-Luc Marion) p. 104 Part III The Test of Subjectivity p. 123 1 Subjectivity in Contemporary French Phenomenology p. 127 2 The Birth of Subjectivity in Levinas p. 142 3 Born to Life, Born to Oneself: The Birth of Subjectivity in Michel Henry p. 156 4 Spectral Subjectivity According to Jacques Derrida p. 174 Part IV Phenomenological Discourse and Subjectification p. 191 1 The Rhythm of Otherwise Than Being According to Levinas p. 202 1 Reading Levinas and Thinking Entirely Otherwise p. 202 2 Rhythm as the Question of Intentionality in Levinas p. 212 2 The Rhythm of Life According to Michel Henry p. 219 Conclusion p. 243 Abbreviations p. 257 Notes p. 261 Bibliography Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Part I: Toward A Critique Of Phenomenological Rationality -- 1. Research -- 2. Intentionality And Non-givenness -- 3. The Question Of The Limit -- Part Ii: The Frontier Of Time -- 1. At The Limits Of Intentionality : Michel Henry And Emmanuel Levinas As Readers Of On The Phenomenology Of The Consciousness Of Internal Time -- 2. Anticipating Phenomenology : Jacques Derrida And Jean-luc Marion, The Impossible And Possibility -- Part Iii: The Test Of Subjectivity -- 1. Subjectivity In Contemporary French Phenomenology -- 2. The Birth Of Subjectivity In Levinas -- 3. Born To Life, Born To Oneself : The Birth Of Subjectivity In Michel Henry -- 4. Spectral Subjectivity According To Jacques Derrida -- Part Iv: Phenomenological Discourse And Subjectification -- 1. The Rhythm Of Otherwise Than Being According To Levinas -- 2. The Rhythm Of Life According To Michel Henry -- Conclusion -- Abbreviations -- Notes -- Bibliography. François-david Sebbah ; Translated By Stephen Barker. Originally Published In French Under The Title L'Épreuve De La Limite. Includes Bibliographical References. Through three different versions of phenomenological discourse (Derrida, Henry, and Levinas), this book explores the notions of excess and the excess of excess relative to conceptions of the self.