Jacques Derrida: Philosophy of God

                                                        

Table of Contents

Introduction. 1

1. Life History of Derrida. 1

2. Derrida’s Contributions. 1

2.1 Derrida’s Writings. 1

2.2. Deconstruction. 2

3. Derrida Philosophy of God. 2

3.1. Negative Theology. 2

3.2 Religion without Religion. 

Introduction

The world’s most well-known and debated matter in this world is God. From Plato, the pioneer of the ideology of God, till now concrete solution for this problem was not drawn. In the track of history, many have left their footprints, which respect God. Jacques Derrida, the world's well-known contemporary philosopher, is no exception from him. He spent his valuable hours looking for the conclusion to this endless problem. In this paper, the philosophy of Jacques Derrida, which respects to God is analyzed and presented briefly.

 1. Life History of Derrida

Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher, whose influence and contribution to the English world is much especially in the area of literature. He was born in 1930 in El-Biae near Algiers in a Jewish family. He was interested in literature. Since he was influenced by the writing of many philosophers, he turned to the side of philosophy. From his hometown, he moved to Paris, the capital of France, to continue his studies in 1949.[1]

He began his studies at Ecole Normale Superieure, where he afterward taught for 20 years from 1964 to 1984.[2] Meanwhile, Derrida visited many universities all over the world. In 1969, he visited John Hopkins University and US notable Yale and the University of California, Irvine. He had taken a long journey and gave many speeches with deep thought. During the '70s and 80’s he went to Africa, Australia, Europe, Israel, Latin America, Japan, and the Soviet Union to give lecture talks.[3] He is popularly known for the term “Deconstruction”. The term deconstruction has become synonymous with his name.[4] In his last days, he suffered due to cancer and died in 2004.

2. Derrida’s Contributions

2.1 Derrida’s Writings

Derrida’s record of publications is remarkable. In 1962 he wrote an Introduction to the translation of Husserl’s Origin of Geometry that anticipates the later works. In 1967, he published a further study of Edmund Husserl, Speech and Phenomena: a collection of essays, Writing and Difference, and a reading of Ferdinand de Saussure, Claudi Levi- Strauss, and Jean Jacques Rousseau, Of Grammatology. And his famous works are Dissemination(1972), Glas(1974), The Post Card(1980), Psyche(1987), Given Time(1991), and the The Politics of Friendship(1994). Derrida also published extensively on a broad range of subjects from literature and politics to art and architecture.[5]

2.2. Deconstruction

This term “Deconstruction” has a closer connection with Derrida. “Deconstruction is a method of showing how texts based on binary opposition themselves violate both the principle of exclusion and the principle of priority.”[6] Throughout his work, he used this method to penetrate the words of great writings. Primarily, he applied this method to literature writings. Later, he extended it to philosophical thoughts. Deconstruction is a kind of internal conceptual critique in which the critic implicitly and provisionally adheres to the position criticized. In his early work, he introduced this term, and in his later works, he constructed the idea of deconstruction in a full-fledged manner.

The idea of deconstruction is found throughout his writings which start with Speech and Phenomena.[8] We can’t bring his idea of deconstruction into a single definition. Though it is complicated to understand, it is complemented positively in some ways. In short, Deconstruction is a careful approach to writing.[9]

3. Derrida Philosophy of God

3.4. Onto- theology

In his early age work, Derrida primary focused on “metaphysics of presence”. The expression “metaphysics of presence” is not found in the works of Martin Heidgger but this concept was taken from him by Derrida. On one side, it speaks about the being in general (on be on) on other hand, it indicates the study of highest being (the theion) so it called as onto-theology. The metaphysics has varieties of connections with deconstruction. His thoughts concern with Christian theology has two issues. According to his point of View the Christian theology becomes metaphysical when is has some base of Greek philosophy. Since, the Church fathers, medieval philosophers, adapted the Greek philosophy, Christianity become metaphysical. So, God’s position cannot be drawn. Here, Derrida accuses the transcendental is non- verified. Here comes, negative theology to resolve this problem.[10]

3.1. Negative Theology

Negative Theology is another notion that has a close link with Derrida. “Negative theologies are inter wined with positive theologies: they reflect on how the predicated ascribed to God in positive theologies. They ascend to God by way of denying the adequacy of speech”.[11] Pseudo- Dionysius is well known for this apophatic or negative theology. It is one of the most prominent and prevailing ways to elucidate the attributes of God in the non-affirmative sentence. Derrida applied his deconstruction methodology to the depth of God’s nature. He accepted that he could not deconstruct God, but one discourse about God. This statement made him, unlike other atheist philosophers.[12] In his speech he addressed the problem of people, and he exposed God’s incapability. His speech at the 2002 Toronto 'Other Testaments' Conference is the finest example of that.

God transcends this world which includes our verbal expression. we can affirm God only in the negative sense. Due to this limitation of our language, Expression of God’s position is also limited. This idea made negative theology similar to metaphysics.[13] Derrida suspends whether negative theology is another version of metaphysics.* This hiddenness of God’s essence stands as the base for another twisted statement that God is a metaphysical entity.* Derrida considers this negative theology as a life- jacket of God. He says, “If God is to be kept safe then the desire to appropriate God must itself be abandoned”[14]. In his point of view, negative theology is not enough to derive God and His essence. The love of God may demand the denial of the world, not God Himself.

3.2 Religion without Religion

From the 1990s, Derrida shifted his concern toward the area of religion. Negative theology questions the entire metaphysical ideas. This religion without religion deconstructs the beliefs of various religions. He borrowed this phrase from St. Augustine, who defined God as “measure without measure”, “number without number” and “weight without weight”. Derrida did not stop this one phrase. He had some other like “death without death” and “being without being”.*[15]

His view of religion is a human-based rational religion. Rational religion is not a version of democracy or state. He invites everyone to have mutual faith in one another because he considers every individual as single and holy. The holiness is cheered up only when we have a relationship by bridging the faith. Man is predicated based on the faith of others in him.[16] Religion without Religion destructs the structural religion. He vouches, “No ecclesial structure or priestly rituals will characterize this rational religion. It will not be a natural religion”.[17]Pure religion demands faith in one another, not faith in unseen or inexperienced ideal God.

Conclusion

Though, Derrida had some complex idea to bring out the solution to the problem of God. He had drafted some formulas to value the higher being. His form deconstruction remains as scale to the metaphysical and transcendental concepts.

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[1] Kevin Hart, “Jacques Derrida”, in Graham Oppy and Nick Trakakis, eds., The History of Western Philosophy of Religion, Vol. 5, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009,

[2] Robert Bernasconi, “Jacques Derrida”, in Donald M. Borchert, ed., Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 2, New York: Gale Cengage Learning, 2006, p. 715.,

[3] Kevin Hart, “Jacques Derrida”, in Graham Oppy and Nick Trakakis, eds., The History of Western  Philosophy of Religion, Vol. 5,

[4] Robert Bernasconi, “Jacques Derrida”, in Donald M. Borchert, ed., Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 2, p. 715.,

[5] Alan D. Schrift, “Deconstruction”, in Donald M. Borchert, ed., Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 2, p. 715.,

[6] Gray Gutting, “Sartre, Foucault and Derrida”, in Nicholas Bunnin and E.P Tsui- James, eds., The Blackwell Companion of Philosophy, Germany: Blackwell Publishing, 2003, p. 869.

[8] Samuel C. Wheeler III, “Deconstruction”, in Robert Audi, ed., The Cambridge dictionary of Philosophy, Vol. 2, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 209.

[9] Gray Gutting, “Sartre, Foucault and Derrida”, in Nicholas Bunnin and E.P Tsui- James, eds., The Blackwell Companion of Philosophy, p. 869.

[10] Kevin Kart, “Religion”, in Jack Reynolds and Jonathan Roffe, ed., Understanding Derrida, New York: Continnum, 2004, p. 55-56.

[11] Kevin Kart, “Religion”, in Jack Reynolds and Jonathan Roffe, ed., Understanding Derrida, p. 55-56.

[12] Kevin Hart, “Jacques Derrida”, in Graham Oppy and Nick Trakakis, eds., The History of Western Philosophy of Religion, Vol. 5,

[16] Owen Ware, “Impossible Passions: Derrida and Negative Theology”, Philosophy today, 49 (Summer 2005) 2, p. .