Deconstruction, Politics, Performatics MODERNITY in QUESTION STUDIES in PHILOSOPHY and HISTORY of IDEAS
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Deconstruction, Politics, Performatics MODERNITY IN QUESTION STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY OF IDEAS Edited by Małgorzata Kowalska VOLUME 11 MODERNITY IN QUESTION Anna Burzy ska STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY OF IDEAS ń Edited by Małgorzata Kowalska Deconstruction, Politics, VOLUME 11 Performatics Translated by Thomas Anessi Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Na- tionalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. The Publication is funded by Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland as a part of the National Programme for the Development of the Humanities. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Ministry cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the in- formation contained therein. Cover illustration: Courtesy of Benjamin Ben Chaim Printed by CPI books GmbH, Leck ISSN 2193-3421 ISBN 978-3-631-67434-5 (Print) E-ISBN 978-3-653-06879-5 (E-PDF) E-ISBN 978-3-631-70840-8 (EPUB) E-ISBN 978-3-631-70841-5 (MOBI) DOI 10.3726/b15924 Open Access: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 unported license. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ © Anna Burzyńska, 2019 Peter Lang – Berlin · Bern · Bruxelles · New York · Oxford · Warszawa · Wien This publication has been peer reviewed. www.peterlang.com Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Contents The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Na- tionalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. Introduction. Deconstruction post mortem ........................................ 9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data From Metaphysics to the Ethical and the Political ....................................... 13 A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. ‘Textual Performance’ and Praising Experience ........................................... 21 The Publication is funded by Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Part 1 Derrida and the Ethical and Political Republic of Poland as a part of the National Programme for the Development of the Humanities. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Ministry cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the in- The Ethical Turn .............................................................................................. 27 formation contained therein. Cover illustration: Courtesy of Benjamin Ben Chaim The Law of the Other ..................................................................................... 47 Printed by CPI books GmbH, Leck ISSN 2193-3421 The Ethical Preconditions for Politics ................................................... 69 ISBN 978-3-631-67434-5 (Print) E-ISBN 978-3-653-06879-5 (E-PDF) E-ISBN 978-3-631-70840-8 (EPUB) The Political Turn ............................................................................................ 73 E-ISBN 978-3-631-70841-5 (MOBI) DOI 10.3726/b15924 The Politics of Deconstruction ................................................................. 81 © Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Berlin 2019 America Between Derrida and Foucault .............................................. 93 All rights reserved. Peter Lang – Berlin · Bern · Bruxelles · New York · Against ‘Metaphysical Correctness’ ........................................................ 109 Oxford · Warszawa · Wien All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without Deconstruction and the New Sense of the Political ........................ 123 the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in The Otherness of the Other ........................................................................ 129 electronic retrieval systems. This publication has been peer reviewed. The Political Today ......................................................................................... 137 www.peterlang.com 6 Contents Part 2 Derrida and Performance The Performative Turn .................................................................................. 143 Performativity and the ‘Post-s’ .................................................................. 159 Two ‘Theatres’ ................................................................................................... 171 Mime versus Mimesis .................................................................................... 189 The Second Closure of Representation ................................................. 201 Scrutinizing Austin ........................................................................................ 217 Textual Performance ...................................................................................... 233 ‘Event’ ................................................................................................................. 235 ‘Iteration’ ............................................................................................................ 237 ‘Production’ ....................................................................................................... 241 ‘Interaction’ ....................................................................................................... 248 ‘Materiality’ ....................................................................................................... 253 ‘Mobility’ ............................................................................................................ 261 ‘Effect’ ................................................................................................................. 265 ‘Performing’ ....................................................................................................... 270 ‘Scene’ ................................................................................................................. 274 ‘Action’ ................................................................................................................ 277 A Warning in Spurs ........................................................................................ 281 The Scriptor on the Scene of the Text ..................................................... 293 Contents 7 To Testify to the Event ................................................................................... 299 Part 3 Derrida and Experience The Empirical Turn ........................................................................................ 315 Life after Theory .............................................................................................. 319 Problems with Experience .......................................................................... 323 Experience Regained ..................................................................................... 329 The Confession in Confessions .................................................................. 337 Epistemic Trauma ........................................................................................... 343 ‘The Experience of Writing’ ............................................................................ 344 ‘The Critical Experience of Literature’ ........................................................... 347 ‘The Experience of Aporia’ .............................................................................. 349 Shibboleth, or ‘Only One Time’ ................................................................ 355 The Repetition of Experience .................................................................... 363 Signèsponge: When the Other Becomes Mine ................................... 379 Woman Will Not be Pinned Down ......................................................... 393 Index ..................................................................................................................... 405 Introduction. Deconstruction post mortem Half a century has now passed since the birth of Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction, during which time its death has been pronounced a number of times. Although deconstruction ultimately managed somehow to rise from the grave, it seemed fated to live on as a toothless bogeyman, no longer capable of evoking fear. This is hardly surprising – such is often the case with subversive ideas: they come into their own, quickly gain influence, then slowly enter a dormant phase, ultimately ending up as a museum piece. Deconstruction’s early, ‘strategic’ form,1 with its aim of ‘destabilizing’ [labilité] fossilized structures by ‘shaking’ them up and making them ‘tremble’ [soliciter],2 was well suited to the turbulent atmosphere of the 1960s and 1970s in both France and America. The term itself became a watchword for intellectuals on both sides of the Atlantic, providing them with a convenient opportunity for carrying out a ‘revolution on paper’ in the privacy of their cosy offices, without the need for carrying protest signs or chanting radical 3 slogans. As the main ‘critical force’ behind postmodernism and poststructur- alism,4 Derrida’s