Deconstructing Lyotard: Derrida's critics of "Heidegger and "the jews.""

• In Event: Gangsters, Aliens and Other Philosophies of Judaism

Abstract

The French philosopher Jean-François Lyotard remains the well-known thinker of postmodernity. However, he has been interested in Jewish studies and philosophy his whole life. For instance, he was an early reader of Emmanuel Levinas and was fascinated by his works for a long time before the academic recognition of this major author. Lyotard was also a close friend of Jacques Derrida—important debates and disagreements shaped this fascinating intellectual friendship. But those aspects remain unknown.
One of these disagreements relies on the question of antisemitism and the Jewish condition. Indeed, in his late work Heidegger and "the jews.", Lyotard addresses the question of antisemitism. This brilliant text gives a new perspective on holocaust studies and the study of antisemitism. One crucial argument appears to be the will of anti-Semitic people to erase Jews and even the presence of the Jews in the political scene as if they have never existed. The analysis of this antisemitic rhetoric appears to be especially relevant to contemporary antisemitism. However, Derrida has strongly challenged Lyotard's theory. Indeed, in his notes on Lyotard's book, which has never been analyzed before, he questioned Lyotard's philosophy and warned us about the danger of a new essentialization. This paper, nourished by work at Princeton's Derrida personal library, will expound on the significant points of this debate and try to draw new perspectives on this discussion and, more widely, on Holocaust studies.

Author

• Julien Dahan, Emory Univeristy