The Purest of Bastards: Works of Mourning, Art, and Affirmation in the Thought of Jacques Derrida (American and European Philosophy)

The "deconstruction" that is commonly seen to be the method of Derrida's philosophy has an inescapably negative connotation. To counter this view of Derrida's thought as basically destructive, David Farrell Krell invites readers to understand how it may instead be seen as fundamentally affirmative--just as Nietzsche's philosophy, so allegedly nihilistic, is at heart a call for tragic affirmation, in amor fati. But, while affirmative, Derrida is also engaged in a thinking of mourning, which he views as the promise of memory--a fragile yet vital promise that binds past and future. The book explores what mourning means in Derrida's writing and how the labors of mourning and affirmation are mediated by works of art. Thus the book engages many different areas of Derrida's work, from the classic texts of deconstruction to the more recent meditations on art and mourning."This chance [affirmation without issue] can come to us only from you, do you hear me? Do you understand me? ... And me, the purest of bastards, leaving bastards of all kinds just about everywhere." This passage from Derrida's La Carte postale nicely encapsulates what David Farrell Krell wants to convey about Derrida's thought--its astonishing mix of negativity and affirmation in his labors of mourning. Contents 8 List of Illustrations 10 Preface 12 Introduction: Memoria in Memoriam 15 Mourning the Beautiful in Art and Life 20 A Mournful Logic 23 A Mournful Freud 28 Memory Mourning Affirmation 31 PART ONE: Mourning the Work of Art 37 1. Broken Frames 39 Kant's Example 44 The Third Critique as Endpoint and Middle Member of the Critical Project 47 Interest and Happiness, Plaisir and Delight 50 E.g., Examples, for Example 55 2. Echo, Narcissus, Echo 63 The Louvre Exhibition Memoirs of the Blind 64 The Purest Type of Woman 74 The Spinning Librarian 78 Narcissus in Ruins 82 PART TWO: Mourning the Work of Philosophy 97 3. Mourning the Voice 99 Scribes Describe... 101 ...and Phenomenologists Write 106 The Gorge 112 The Keen 114 4. Mourning Ultratranscendence 117 Ultratranscendental Passage 121 The To-Appear of Appearing 124 Jointures Out of Joint 125 The Limp 128 5. Mourning the Perfect Future 131 The Ecstatic Perfect 132 Ecstatic Unity as Radical Displacement 135 The Future of Ecstatic Having-Been 138 The Ecstatic lmperfect(ion) of Trakl's Hands 139 6. Eight Labors of Mourning 143 Husserl 144 Merleau-Ponty 147 Benjamin 149 Heidegger 151 Irigaray 152 Nietzsche 154 Cixous 156 Empedocles of Acragas 157 A Polemical Note 159 PART THREE: Mourning Affirmation 161 7. Knell 163 Does Anyone Here Remember Absolute Knowing? 164 Mary Magdalene at the Feet of God 171 Teaching the Children, Burying the Corpses 182 Foam in the Cup 185 8. Mourning Monica, Our (M)Other 189 Entrückung, μεταβολή, Raptus 190 The Ultimate Inhibition 193 Confessing the M(O)ther 201 Raptures of Mourning 211 Conclusion: Affirmation Without Issue 215 Mourning and Affirmation Revisited 217 The Purest Bastard of the West 219 A Gift of the French 221 Redoubled Affirmation 223 Notes 229 Preface 229 Introduction: Memoria in Memoriam 229 Chapter 1 : Broken Frames 230 Chapter 2: Echo, Narcissus, Echo 232 Chapter 3: Mourning the Voice 235 Chapter 4: Mourning Ultratranscendence 237 Chapter 5: Mourning the Perfect Future 238 Chapter 6: Eight labors of Mourning 238 Chapter 7: Knell 239 Chapter 8: Mourning Monica, Our (M)Other 240 Conclusion: Affirmation Without Issue 244 Index 245 The "deconstruction" that is commonly seen to be the method of Derrida's philosophy has an inescapably negative connotation. To counter this view of Derrida's thought as basically destructive, David Farrell Krell invites readers to understand how it may instead be seen as fundamentally affirmative -- just as Nietzsche's philosophy, so allegedly nihilistic, is at heart a call for tragic affirmation, in amor fati.But, while affirmative, Derrida is also engaged in a thinking of mourning, which he views as the promise of memory -- a fragile yet vital promise that binds past and future. The book explores what mourning means in Derrida's writing and how the labors of mourning and affirmation are mediated by works of art. Thus the book engages many different areas of Derrida's work, from the classic texts of deconstruction to the more recent meditations on art and mourning."This chance (affirmation without issue) can come to us only from you, do you hear me? Do you understand me? ... And me, the purest of bastards, leaving bastards of all kinds just about everywhere". This passage from Derrida's La Carte postale nicely encapsulates what David Farrell Krell wants to convey about Derrida's thought -- its astonishing mix of negativity and affirmation in his labors of mourning.

a New Reading Of Derrida's Philosophy That Emphasizes Its Fundamentally Affirmative Character.