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Understanding Derrida Jack Reynolds, Jonathan Roffe
Publisher: Continuum

This means that the other always remains fully other to the self: one responds to the needs of the other whilst not fully understanding what these very needs are. As such, the gift is as essential to the Derridean critique of the values of sense and presence as it is to Sartre's critique of a reifying understanding of consciousness and of time, and to his fundamental understanding of freedom as creation. (personally I think Husserl often gets eclipsed by Heidegger in understanding Derrida's influences). Language is not that powerful for Derrida. Understanding Derrida (London and New York: Continuum, 2004). There is a relational quality that does manifest itself enough to make understanding possible – yet no one can name quite what this quality is. From reading Derrida, we know that he seeks to finds moments in the text where the writing collapses in on itself. I think the answer must hinge on Derrida's own understanding of this particular author-function. Derrida's thesis to understanding the written word is that the assumed superiority of the written text is based on a) Western ethnocentrism and b) the logocentric belief of the superiority of the written word over orality. Because I was having trouble understanding Derrida I looked online for some study-guides and summaries of his writing to try and better understand "differance". I believe this concept is essential to understanding Derrida and as such it deserves our full attention. For instance, we explored in class how Dr. Smith also makes regular reference to Husserl and shows the importance of his thought for Derrida. I would like to add, though, that Derrida doesn't theorize that the world is maintained and constructed by language.