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Book SynopsisEarly in their careers, Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida argued over madness, reason, and history in an exchange that profoundly influenced continental philosophy and critical theory. This collection traces this exchange in debates over the possibilities of genealogy and deconstruction, approaches to philosophy, and the role of the archive.
Trade ReviewMust we choose between Foucault and Derrida, between genealogy and deconstruction? The essays of this volume for the first time offer a comprehensive and profound analysis of the many aspects of what, retrospectively, can be called the Foucault-Derrida-debate and thus help us to better understand an alternative that - often unnoticed and unacknowledged - has shaped for over half a century large fields of critical thinking. The impact of this volume thus goes far beyond the investigation of a decisive event in the history of ideas; it explores no less than the contemporary possibilities for practicing critique. -- Christophe Menke, Goethe-Universitat, Frankfurt/Main, Germany This remarkable collection of essays shows how the exchange between Derrida and Foucault raises issues that remain crucial for contemporary critical thought. Individually and collectively, the authors demonstrate both the irreconcilable differences at the heart of this exchange and its inexhaustible productivity, not least in its effects on the subsequent work of Derrida and Foucault. This is a must read for anyone interested in deconstruction, genealogy or the relations between these critical methods. -- Paul Patton, University of New South Wales, Australia This excellent volume makes evident why the Foucault-Derrida debate continues to matter. The problem at the heart of it might ostensibly seem minor - the correct interpretation of a paragraph in Descartes's Meditations. In truth, the stakes could hardly be higher: the status of reason and critique, and ultimately, the future of philosophy itself. -- Johanna Oksala, University of Helsinki Recommended. CHOICE
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction, by Olivia Custer, Penelope Deutscher, and Samir Haddad Part I: Openings 1. The Foucault-Derrida Debate on the Argument Concerning Madness and Dreams, by Pierre Macherey 2. Looking Back at History of Madness, by Lynne Huffer 3. Violence and Hyperbole: From "Cogito and the History of Madness" to The Death Penalty, by Michael Naas Part II: Surviving the Philosophical Problem: History Crosses Transcendental Analysis 4. Must Philosophy Be Obligatory? History Versus Metaphysics in Foucault and Derrida, by Colin Koopman 5. "The Common Root of Meaning and Nonmeaning": Derrida, Foucault, and the Transformation of the Transcendental Question, by Thomas Khurana 6. Philosophies of Immanence and Transcendence: Reading History of Madness with Derrida and Habermas, by Amy Allen Part III: After-Effects 7. Foucault, Derrida: The Effects of Critique, by Judith Revel 8. A Petty Pedagogy? Teaching Philosophy in Derrida's "Cogito and the History of Madness", by Samir Haddad Part IV: Life, Death, Power: New Death Penalties 9. Power and the "Drive for Mastery": Derrida's Freud and the Debate with Foucault, by Robert Trumbull 10. "This Death Which Is Not One": Reproductive Biopolitics and the Woman as Exception in The Death Penalty, Volume 1, by Penelope Deutscher Part V: Foucault's and Derrida's Last Seminars 11. From Reprisal to Reprise, by Olivia Custer 12. The Truth About Parrhesia: Philosophy, Rhetoric, and Politics in Late Foucault, by Geoffrey Bennington List of Contributors Index
