The civic religion of social hope: A reply to Simon Critchley
Philosophy and Social Criticism 27 (5):35-58 (2001)
| Abstract | This article attempts to respond to Simon Critchley's claim in a recent debate with Richard Rorty, that the latter, by not fully recognizing its indebtedness to Levinas, misunderstands the political import of the work of Jacques Derrida. I maintain, pace Critchley, that trying to push the Derrida-Levinas connection too far will not only further compound Rorty's view of Derrida as a thinker devoid of political efficacy, but that it will moreover serve to obscure the significant differences which exist between Levinas and Derrida - differences which cannot be overlooked in any serious discussion of the two thinkers in question. In the second half, I try to convince Critchley that what separates Derrida from Levinas is precisely what hooks him up with Rorty at a political level. Both, I argue, are committed to a civic religion of social hope. In so doing, I try to convince Rorty that his caricature of Derrida as a private writer without political consequence, ought now to be seriously reconsidered. Key Words: community • Critchley • democracy • Derrida • ethics • justice • law • Levinas • politics • religion • Rorty • sentiment • singularity • social hope. | |||||||||
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Similar books and articlesSimon Critchley (1995). Deconstruction and Pragmatism : Is Derrida a Private Ironist or a Public Libera? In Philippe van Haute & Peg Birmingham (eds.), Dissensus Communis: Between Ethics and Politics. Kok Pharos.
Jacques Derrida (2000). Performative Powerlessness: A Response to Simon Critchley. Constellations 7 (4):466-468.
Simon Critchley (2008). Derrida : The Reader. In Robert Eaglestone & Simon Glendinning (eds.), Derrida's Legacies: Literature and Philosophy. Routledge.
Nicholas H. Smith (2005). Rorty on Religion and Hope. Inquiry 48 (1):76 – 98.
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Eduard Jordaan (2006). Affinities in the Socio-Political Thought of Rorty and Levinas. Philosophy and Social Criticism 32 (2):193-209.
Simon Critchley (2004). Five Problems in Levinas's View of Politics and the Sketch of a Solution to Them. Political Theory 32 (2):172-185.
Bob Plant (2003). Doing Justice to the Derrida–Levinas Connection: A Response to Mark Dooley. Philosophy and Social Criticism 29 (4):427-450.
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