The Work of Mourning

by Derrida, Jacques; Brault, Pascale-Anne; Naas, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780226143163
• ISBN10: 0226143163
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-07-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Jacques Derrida is, in the words of theNew York Times, "perhaps the world's most famous philosopherif not the only famous philosopher." He often provokes controversy as soon as his name is mentioned. But he also inspires the respect that comes from an illustrious career, and, among many who were his colleagues and peers, he inspired friendship.The Work of Mourningis a collection that honors those friendships in the wake of passing.Gathered here are textsletters of condolence, memorial essays, eulogies, funeral orationswritten after the deaths of well-known figures: Roland Barthes, Paul de Man, Michel Foucault, Louis Althusser, Edmond Jabegrave;s, Louis Marin, Sarah Kofman, Gilles Deleuze, Emmanuel Levinas, Jean-Franccedil;ois Lyotard, Max Loreau, Jean-Marie Benoist, Joseph Riddel, and Michel Serviegrave;re. With his words, Derrida bears witness to the singularity of a friendship and to the absolute uniqueness of each relationship. In each case, he is acutely aware of the questions of tact, taste, and ethical responsibility involved in speaking of the deadthe risks of using the occasion for one's own purposes, political calculation, personal vendetta, and the expiation of guilt. More than a collection of memorial addresses, this volume sheds light not only on Derrida's relation to some of the most prominent French thinkers of the past quarter century but also on some of the most important themes of Derrida's entire oeuvre-mourning, the "gift of death," time, memory, and friendship itself."In his rapt attention to his subjects' work and their influence upon him, the book also offers a hesitant and tangential retelling of Derrida's own life in French philosophical history. There are illuminating and playful anecdoteshow Lyotard led Derrida to begin using a word-processor; how Paul de Man talked knowledgeably of jazz with Derrida's son. Anyone who still thinks that Derrida is a facetious punster will find such resentful prejudice unable to survive a reading of this beautiful work."Steven Poole,Guardian"Strikinglysimpameditations on friendship, on shared vocations and avocations and on philosophy and history."Publishers Weekly

Author Biography

Jacques Derrida is the 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 including The Gift of Death and Archive Fever, both published by the University of Chicago Press.

Pascale-Anne Brault is an associate professor of French at DePaul University.

Michael Naas is a professor of philosophy at DePaul University. Together they have translated several works by Derrida, including Memoirs of the Blind, published by the University of Chicago Press, and Adieu.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Editors' Introduction	1	(30)
To Reckon with the Dead: Jacques Derrida's Politics of Mourning
Roland Barthes (1915-80)1	31	(38)
The Deaths of Roland Barthes
Paul de Man (1919-83)	69	(8)
In Memoriam: Of the Soul
Michel Foucault (1926-84)	77	(14)
``To Do Justice to Freud''
Max Loreau (1928-90)	91	(14)
Letter to Francine Loreau
Jean-Marie Benoist (1942-90)	105	(6)
The Taste of Tears
Louis Althusser (1918-90)	111	(8)
Text Read at Louis Althusser's Funeral
Edmond Jabes (1912-91)	119	(6)
Letter to Didier Cahen
Joseph N. Riddel (1931-91)	125	(8)
A demi-mot
Michel Serviere (1941-91)	133	(6)
As If There Were an Art of the Signature
Louis Marin (1931-92)	139	(26)
By Force of Mourning
Sarah Kofman (1934-94)	165	(24)
Gilles Deleuze (1925-95)	189	(8)
I'm Going to Have to Wander All Alone
Emmanuel Levinas (1906-95)	197	(14)
Adieu
Jean-Francois Lyotard (1924-98)	211	(32)
All-Out Friendship Lyotard and Us
Bibliographies	243
Kas Saghafi