Derrida and Autobiography [Paperback]

A reading of the philosophy of Jacques Derrida and an investigation of theories of autobiography.Offering the philosophy of Derrida as well as an investigation of current theories of autobiography, this text ultimately discovers new perspectives from which to analyze the work of such classic writers as Hegel, Nietszche, Kierkegaard, Freud and de Man.Offering the philosophy of Derrida as well as an investigation of current theories of autobiography, this text ultimately discovers new perspectives from which to analyze the work of such classic writers as Hegel, Nietszche, Kierkegaard, Freud and de Man.The work of Jacques Derrida can be seen to reinvent most theories; here Robert Smith offers a reading of the philosophy of Derrida and an investigation of theories of autobiography. Smith argues that for Derrida autobiography is not so much a general condition of thought as a general condition of writing that mocks any self-centered finitude of living and dying. In this context, Smith thinks through Derrida's texts in a new way, and finds new perspectives to analyze classical writers including Hegel, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Freud and de Man.Part I. The Book of Esther: 1. Incipit; 2. Pure reason, absolute knowledge, pure change; 3. Suffering: 4. His life story; Part II. Clarifying Autobiography: 5. Worstward ho: some recent theories; 6. Labyrinths; Part III. The Book of Zo?: 7. auto; 8. bio; 9. graphy.