Derrida’s Differance and Plato’s Different

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 59 (4):999-1013 (1999)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

This essay shows that Derrida’s discussion of “Differance,” is remarkably parallel to Plato’s discussion of Difference in the Parmenides. Plato’s presentation of “Parmenides’” discussion of generation from a One which Is is a version of Derrida’s preconceptual spacing. Derrida’s implicit reference to Plato both interprets Plato and explains the obscure features of “Differance.” Derrida’s paradoxical remarks about Differance are very like what Plato implies about Difference.Derrida’s Differance addresses the puzzle that concepts are required to construct the beings in a plurality of objects, but concepts cannot differentiate unless there is already a plurality of objects. Plato’s version of the same problem is a notational variant of Derrida’s Husserlian dilemma.Derrida, following Davidson, is not only skeptical about the project of founding metaphysics on simple entities, but also holds that necessity has no foundation in the “world.” Plato, on the other hand, retains the idea that necessity has an objective basis in the self-evident truths of mereology

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,593

External links

  • This entry has no external links. Add one.
Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Derrida’s Differance and Plato’s Different.Samuel C. Wheeler Iii - 1999 - Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 59 (4):999 - 1013.
The Ghost of the Unnameable.Roy Sellars - 2012 - Derrida Today 5 (2):248-263.
The trace of legal idealism in Derrida's grammatology.William E. Conklin - 1996 - Philosophy and Social Criticism 22 (5):17-42.
Derrida and the writing of the body.Jones Irwin - 2010 - Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
Decision, hegemony and law: Derrida and Laclau.E. E. Berns - 1996 - Philosophy and Social Criticism 22 (4):71-80.
Jacques Derrida.Jackn D. Reynolds - 2002 - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Evolving negativity: From Hegel to Derrida.Nina Belmonte - 2002 - Philosophy and Social Criticism 28 (1):18-58.
Derrida and connectionism: Differance in neural nets.Gordon G. Globus - 1992 - Philosophical Psychology 5 (2):183-97.

Analytics

Added to PP
2011-01-09

Downloads
13 (#886,512)

6 months
1 (#1,040,386)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Samuel C. Wheeler III
University of Connecticut

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references