Law's Trace: From Hegel to Derrida

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Jurisprudence, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Ethics & Moral Philosophy
Cover of the book Law's Trace: From Hegel to Derrida by Catherine Kellogg, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Catherine Kellogg ISBN: 9781136981579
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: December 4, 2009
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Catherine Kellogg
ISBN: 9781136981579
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: December 4, 2009
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Law's Trace argues for the political importance of deconstruction by taking Derrida’s reading of Hegel as its point of departure. While it is well established that seemingly neutral and inclusive legal and political categories and representations are always, in fact, partial and exclusive, among Derrida’s most potent arguments was that the exclusions at work in every representation are not accidental but constitutive. Indeed, one of the most significant ways that modern philosophy appears to having completed its task of accounting for everything is by claiming that its foundational concepts – representation, democracy, justice, and so on – are what will have always been. They display what Derrida has called a "fabulous retroactivity." This means that such forms of political life as liberal constitutional democracy, capitalism, the rule of law, or even the private nuclear family, appear to be the inevitable consequence of human development. Hegel’s thought is central to the argument of this book for this reason: the logic of this fabulous retroactivity was articulated most decisively for the modern era by the powerful idea of the Aufhebung – the temporal structure of the always-already. Deconstruction reveals the exclusions at work in the foundational political concepts of modernity by ‘re-tracing’ the path of their creation, revealing the ‘always-already’ at work in that path. Every representation, knowledge or law is more uncertain than it seems, and the central argument of Law's Trace is that they are, therefore, always potential sites for political struggle.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Law's Trace argues for the political importance of deconstruction by taking Derrida’s reading of Hegel as its point of departure. While it is well established that seemingly neutral and inclusive legal and political categories and representations are always, in fact, partial and exclusive, among Derrida’s most potent arguments was that the exclusions at work in every representation are not accidental but constitutive. Indeed, one of the most significant ways that modern philosophy appears to having completed its task of accounting for everything is by claiming that its foundational concepts – representation, democracy, justice, and so on – are what will have always been. They display what Derrida has called a "fabulous retroactivity." This means that such forms of political life as liberal constitutional democracy, capitalism, the rule of law, or even the private nuclear family, appear to be the inevitable consequence of human development. Hegel’s thought is central to the argument of this book for this reason: the logic of this fabulous retroactivity was articulated most decisively for the modern era by the powerful idea of the Aufhebung – the temporal structure of the always-already. Deconstruction reveals the exclusions at work in the foundational political concepts of modernity by ‘re-tracing’ the path of their creation, revealing the ‘always-already’ at work in that path. Every representation, knowledge or law is more uncertain than it seems, and the central argument of Law's Trace is that they are, therefore, always potential sites for political struggle.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Feminist Perspectives on Tort Law by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book Regulatory Realities by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book Participatory Rural Planning by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book New Asian Emperors by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book From Student to Urban Planner by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book The European Mosaic by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book Evolving Cities by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book Darwin and the Bible by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book Industry and Air Power by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book A Year with the Producers by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book Cyberbullying through the New Media by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book Inter-organizational Relations in International Security by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book Lexical borrowing and deborrowing in Spanish in New York City by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book Death and the City by Catherine Kellogg
Cover of the book Breaking Through Grass Ceiling by Catherine Kellogg
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy