This book is an unusually readable and lucid account of the
development of Derrida's work, from his early writings on
phenomenology and structuralism to his most recent interventions in
debates on psychoanalysis, ethics and politics.
Christina Howells gives a clear explanation of many of the key
terms of deconstruction - including différance, trace,
supplement and logocentrism - and shows how they function in
Derrida's writing. She explores his critique of the notion of
self-presence through his engagement with Husserl, and his critique
of humanist conceptions of the subject through an account of his
ambivalent and evolving relationship to the philosophy of Sartre.
The question of the relationship between philosophy and literature
is examined through an analysis of the texts of the 1970s, and in
particular Glas, where Derrida confronts Hegel's totalizing
dialectics with the fragmentary and iconoclastic writings of Jean
Genet.
The author addresses directly the vexed questions of the extreme
difficulty of Derrida's own writing and of the passionate hostility
it arouses in philosophers as diverse as Searle and Habermas. She
argues that deconstruction is a vital stimulus to vigilance in both
the ethical and political spheres, contributing significantly to
debate on issues such as democracy, the legacy of Marxism,
responsibility, and the relationship between law and justice.
Comprehensive, cogently argued and up to date, this book will be
an invaluable text for students and scholars alike.
