Jacques Derrida: Basic Writings

by Barry Stocker (Editor)

One of the most influential and controversial thinkers of the twentieth-century, Jacques Derrida’s ideas on deconstruction have had a lasting impact on philosophy, literature and cultural studies. Jacques Basic Writings is the first anthology to present his most important philosophical writings and is an indispensable resource for all students and readers of his work. Barry Stocker’s clear and helpful introductions set each reading in context, making the volume an ideal companion for those coming to Derrida’s writings for the first time. The selections themselves range from his most infamous works including Speech and Phenomena and Writing and Difference to lesser known discussion on aesthetics, ethics and politics.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

456 pages, Paperback

First published July 27, 2007

Reviews

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm stunned by how good this anthology is, both for those who have never read Derrida before, and for those who have, but want to experiment with one way at getting a synoptic view of his writing. (Of course, that's a deliberately contrarian intention, but no less valuable for that fact; to read Derrida synoptically is, ipso facto, to read him heterologically.) Actually, now that I think of it, the Basic Writings volume for Sartre also displays remarkable good taste. The notoriously uneven Routledge has a good thing going here.