An Event, Perhaps

£9.99

Who was Jacques Derrida, and why does he have such a towering, and foreboding reputation across modern philosophy? For some he is the source of the crisis of alternative facts. For far-right terrorist Anders Brievik, ‘Derridian deconstruction’ was the cause for the end of truth. In 1992, 18 philosophers wrote an open letter to complain when he was awarded an honorary degree by Cambridge University. For others, he is a film star thinker who covered every possible subject from literature, politics, and language. Here Peter Salmon introduces the key concepts, showing that, despite the impression of being eclectic, Derrida was a writer who spent his life on a series of interlinked themes: ethics, friendship and language.

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Description

Who was Jacques Derrida? For some, he is responsible, at least in part, for the contemporary crisis of truth. For the far right, he is one of the architects of Cultural Marxism. To his academic critics, he reduced French philosophy to ‘little more than an object of ridicule’. For his fans, he is an intellectual rock star who ranged across literature, politics, and linguistics. In An Event Perhaps, Peter Salmon presents this misunderstood and misappropriated figure as a deeply humane and urgent thinker for our times. Accessible, provocative and beautifully written, this biography will introduce to a new readership to the life and work of a philosopher whose influence over the way we think will continue long into the twenty-first century.

Additional information

Weight 263 g
Dimensions 198 × 129 × 20 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

312

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

194 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K