Deconstruction and Nothingness

Deliberation, Daoism, and Derrida on Decision

Bibliographic Data

ID21828017
AuthorsPaul Patton (0000-0002-9005-2095, Wuhan University, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume16
Issue1
Pages1-21
Publication date2022-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueKritike An Online Journal of Philosophy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1908-7330 • E-ISSN: 1908-7330
PublisherKritike: An Online Journal of Philosophy (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.25138/16.1.fa
OpenAlexW4283397341
LanguageEN
References cited7

This article traces a connection between the Daoist conception of nothingness and democratic deliberation by way of Derrida's deconstructive analysis of decision. Analysis of the aporia(s) at the heart of decision is a recurrent feature of Derrida's later work and, I argue, this highlights the function of nothingness in the act of decision. After identifying convergences between Derridean deconstruction and the Daodejing relating to the constitutive role of nothingness in material and immaterial things, I argue that it is only because of the nothingness between reasons and a decision that there really is "a decision." This nothingness as the heart of any decision is further compounded by the "ordeal" that Derrida describes in relation to decisions that aspire to be just or responsible to the other. Finally, I argue that Derrida's analysis of decision suggests a possible way to spell out the connection between nothingness and the ethics of difference as presented in the Zhuangzi. Awareness of the primary and secondary nothingness involved in decision reminds us that there is no ground for "good conscience" with regard to any decision that has been taken and that there is always more to be done

Deliberation · Epistemology · Nothing · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Chinese history and philosophy · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy · Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism

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