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Derrida and Postmodernity: at the End(S) of History THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICHESTER An accredited institution of the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON Derrida and Postmodernity: At the End(s) of History Sally Hart Doctor of Philosophy Department of History I April 2007 This thesis has been completed as a requirement for a higher degree of the University of Southampton. WS 2250357 9 1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 THE UNIVERSITY OF CmCHESTER An accredited institution of the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT Doctor of Philosophy DERRIDA AND POSTMODERNITY: AT THE END(S) OF mSTORY By Sally Hart This thesis has been completed as a requirement for a higher degree of the University of Southampton. This thesis erects and defends the proposition that Jacques Derrida's readings of 'metaphysics in deconstruction' and his raising to theoretical consciousness of the 'differential matrix', have the capacity to inaugurate a 'brave new world' in this postmodern 'age of the aporia'. Beginning with an examination ofDerrida's readings ofHusserl and Saussure, it is argued that the radical historicity uncovered here qua an originary synthesis of language, time and the other, opens the possibility for greatly more democratising and emancipating self-creations and human solidarities to be thought. In terms of 'self-creations', and borrowing from the work of Elizabeth Deeds Ermarth, Chapter Two follows Derrida as modernity's sovereign subject and its 'History' are dis-placed by an absolutely affirmative postmodern subjectivity whose axiom might be 'I inherit, therefore, I am ... yes, yes ... ' Construed through his deconstructive reading of Kant, Derrida shows the way in which this postmodern subjectivity without alibi, makes of us all (like it or not, know it or not) resistance fighters, so many singularities existing in constant tension with all normalisingltotalising tendencies (social, economic, techno-scientific, political, legal etc ... ) which profess to know the secret. Turning to co-extensive 'human solidarities', Chapter Three subsequently demonstrates the way in which Derrida's call for a 'New International', orientated through a 'new figure of Europe' , enables us to imagine new polysemic communities (local, national, international) founded on the 'aporia of the demos', a 'foundation' that construes its hyper-relativity as a positive (ethico-political) condition of decision in terms of a radical responsibility (on an individual and communal level) for the moral/aesthetic decisions we make. It is thus that I will argue that Derrida's vision for a 'new world order' is born out of an aporetic condition which is both a risk and a chance of both the best - and the worst - happening; as someone who shares Derrida's desire for a fairer, freer, more peaceful world, one respectful of difference and otherness, I believe this to be a 'poker like gamble' well worth taking. Chapter Four offers a comparative analysis between the work of Jacques Derrida and Jean Baudrillard, two theorists counter-signing differently many of the 'same' discourses/ traditions/cultures/languages, etc ... to which they are both heirs. The chapter examines their respective 'quasi-philosophies of the limit', together with their differing conceptions of the issues surrounding globalisation and universalisation, as well as Baudrillard' s elevation of America (as opposed to Europe) as the exemplary site of resistance against the dangers of totalisation in 'postmodem' societies. The central argument here, in line with my previous remarks, is that Derrida's thought arguably remains 'the best' way to navigate the postmodern condition and the challenges it produces. The originality of this thesis lies in two main areas, the first having to do with my presentation and conception ofDerrida's oeuvre and the second having to do with the comparisons made in this study between Derrida and Ermarth and Derrida and Baudrillard. In terms of the former, I offer what I consider to be a unique, sustained, in-depth analysis of the 'development' (on a theoretical and practical level) of the thematics of 'radical historicity' and of 'post-historical man' - effectively the development ofDerrida's quasi-philosophy ofhistory - from his earliest works so that they can be seen to inform his later intervention(s) in what are conventionally understood as ethical and political matters; transforming this understanding in the process and, after the end of history's ends (upper case, lower case and the totalising 'history of meaning' per se), quite literally and radically changing the way we see what we call 'the world'. F or while in the conventional literature Derrida's politics come late, I argue here that his indeed later political work is but an emphasis of constant political thematics acting as a leitmotif from beginning to end. Turning to the latter, in terms of the comparisons I make - first between Derrida and Ermarth in Chapter Two and more especially between Derrida and Baudrillard in Chapter Four - the claim to originality lies in the fact that there is no comparison of any note or depth in the literature between these thinkers; nothing that compares Derrida's 'affirmative postmodem subjectivity' and its 'inheritance' with Ermarth's 'rhythmic time' and 'multi-level consciousness', and nothing comparing Derrida's corpus - specifically his optimistic emancipating and democratizing hopes for the future - with Baudrillard's more pessimistic conceptualization of' simulation society' and the loss of our European universal values under the hegemonic, globalising movement of the' American model'. The aim of these two comparisons is to support my claim that Derrida's historico-political position is the 'best' way of essaying the quasi-ground of an in(different) politics in such a way that it keeps the future open to what he calls a 'better world' to come, a world without ends. Table of Contents Introduction 1 CHAPTER ONE: THE DIFFERENTIAL MATRX 15 PART ONE: Derrida and Husserl: At the Limits of Phenomenology 18 Differance at the Origin: Derrida's Introduction to the Origin of Geometry 23 Geometry and the Problem of History 29 Language and Truth: 'The Most Interesting Difficulty' 31 At the Beginning: Language, Time and the Other 35 From Speech to Writing: 'The Most Difficult Problem' 37 Death and the Transcendental 38 The History of Meaning: Between Husserl and Joyce 42 The Limitations of Husserl's Idea 45 Speech and Phenomena: Touching the Void, the Voice of Truth 47 Derrida, the Living Present and the 'Privileged Concept of the Sign' 49 Sense, Expression and the Reduction of Indication: The Nerve ofHusserl's Demonstration 52 Time and the Presence of the Present: Touching the Void 56 PART TWO: Derrida and Ferdinand de Saussure: A Sign of the Times 60 The Sign in 'Crisis': Derrida Post-Structuralism 60 Saussure's 'Essential Distinctions' and the Exclusion of Writing 61 Speech and Writing: The Violence of Thought 64 Concluding Remarks 68 CHAPTER TWO: RE-FIGURING THE POSTMODERN SUBJECT BEYOND THE END(S) OF mSTORY. A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF JACQUES DERRIDA AND ELIZABETH DEEDS ERMARTH. 70 Derrida and Ermarth: Re-Thinking 'Modernity' in the 'Post' Modem 'Age of the Aporia' 79 Ermarth: Mis-Reading Derrida 83 The Postmodern Apocalypse (Sans Apocalypse): Beyond the End(s) of History 87 A Question of Inheritance: The 'Politics of Memory , 93 Affirmez Le Survie: In the Spirit of the 'Incorruptibles' 96 Critical Resistance: The Arti-Factuality and Actu-Virtuality of the Postmodern Times 100 Counter-Signatures: A Matter of Life and Death 107 Derrida and Ermarth: A Tale of Two Axioms 110 Concluding Remarks 117 CHAPTER THREE: DERRIDA: CHANGING THE WORLD (BEFORE TWO O'CLOCK). 120 The 'Political Question': From Husserl to Marx 123 Deconstruction, Marxism and the 'Logic ofHauntology' 129 Democracy in Crisis: Globalisation, Counter-Globalisation 142 A New Europe: Qui, Qui... 146 Concluding Remarks 163 CHAPTER FOUR: BAUDRILLARD AND DERRIDA: AT THE LIMITS OF THOUGHT 166 PART ONE: Jean Baudrillard: Strategies of Resistance 170 In a Spin: Re-Thinking Communication in the 'Symbolic/Semiotic Spiral' 181 Baudrillard and the Politics of Terror 187 The Global and the Universal 194 PART TWO: Derrida and Baudrillard: A Fatal Comparison 204 Before the Law: The Secret Passage 206 The Tele-Techno-Media Age: The Beginning or the End of Freedom and Equality? 210 Concluding Remarks 219 CONCLUSION 222 BmLIOGRAPHY 234 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, Sally Hart declare that the thesis entitled 'Derrida and Postmodemity: At the end(s) of History' and the work presented in it are my own. I confirm that: • this work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University. • where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; • where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; • where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; • I have acknowledged all main sources of help; • where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; • none of this work has been published before submission Signed: Date: 8th January Acknowledglllents I would like to acknowledge the supervision provided by Professor Keith Jenkins, and thank the Department of History at the University College Chichester for its personal and financial support. I would also like to thank my family for all their help, support and financial assistance. Introduction Philosophy came into existence to answer the question: First of all, how to handle one's life and live well together - which is also politics. This is what was addressed in Greek philosophy and from the beginning philosophy and politics were deeply intertwined. We are living beings who believe we have the capacity to change life, and we place ourselves above other animals ..
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