Who Was Jacques Derrida? An Intellectual Biography

Who Was Jacques Derrida? An Intellectual Biography

Who Was Jacques Derrida? This page intentionally left blank Who Was

?

Jacques Derrida

An Intellectual Biography

DAVID MIKICS

Yale University Press New Haven &London Copyright © 2009by David Mikics.

All rights reserved.

This book may not be reproduced,in whole or in part,including

illustrations,in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107

and108ofthe U.S.Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public

press),without written permission from the publishers.

Set in Minion Roman type by Integrated Publishing Solutions.

Printed in the United States ofAmerica.

Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mikics,David,1961–

Who was Jacques Derrida? :an intellectual biography / David Mikics.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN978-0-300-11542-0(hardcover :alk.paper)

1. Derrida,Jacques. I. Title.

B2430.D484M48 2009

194—dc22

[B] 2009011984

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This paper meets the requirements ofANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992

(Permanence ofPaper).

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For VM This page intentionally left blank Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Preface xi

List ofAbbreviations xv

Introduction 1

ONE From Algeria to the École Normale:

Sartre,Hegel,Husserl 11

TWO Writing and DifferenceandOfGrammatology 62

THREE Plato,Austin,Nietzsche,Freud 139 viii Contents

FOUR Gadamer,Celan,de Man,Heidegger 182

FIVE Politics,Marx,Judaism 216

Coda 244

Notes 249

Index 259 Acknowledgments

John Kulka and Jennifer Banks,my editors at Yale University

Press,accompanied me every step ofthe way.This book would

not exist without their care and enthusiasm.The anonymous

readers for Yale were also extraordinarily helpful, and Jack

Borrebach provided expert copyediting. Harvey Yunis read

and usefully commented on my discussion of Plato.I greatly

appreciate the support of David Bromwich and John Hollan-

der,as well as the patience ofHarold Bloom,Michael Fox,and

Tzvetan Todorov,who answered my questions about their per-

sonal experience ofDerrida.

The Martha Gano Houstoun fund at the English Depart-

ment of the University of Houston supported the writing of

this book in essential ways.I am grateful to the Houstoun fam-

ily and to the English Department’s Houstoun Committee.

Richard Armstrong and Rob Zaretsky,of the Honors College

at the University of Houston, offered help and insight; the

Honors College was a true intellectual home during my work

on the book.In New York,the Frederick Lewis Allen Room of

the New York Public Library provided a place to work and an

inspiring sense that I was surrounded by many distinguished

writers, past and present. I thank my father, Lewis J. Mikics;