Beyond Deconstruction : From Hermeneutics to Reconstruction

The controversy over Jacques Derrida''s legacy is one of the most effective engines driving the contemporary debate, far beyond the bounds of philosophy. By now, the variety of contesting positions is so wide that it calls for a critical assessment to achieve a unified theoretical scheme. The dyad of deconstruction and reconstruction, to which the title of the volume refers, aims at composing a kind of map of this debate. The three sections of the book include essays that investigate specific aspects of Derrida''s reception, from the view of 1. philosophy, 2. literary studies and 3. politics and law. These contributions study the implications of deconstruction beyond its original scope and intervene by taking stock of its most relevant aporias.

Blurb by Gianni Vattimo:

"The ''urbanisation'' of Heidegger''s legacy, to which both hermeneutics and deconstruction have contributed, is not only a method. It is a philosophical project which aims at opening a world.
Although they approach it from different points of view, this is the common purpose of the essays brought together in the volume edited by Alberto Martinengo. This is what the contributors describe as ''reconstruction'', providing valuable insights into the philosophical basis of deconstruction and highly instructive guidance with regard to its bearing on the spheres of literary studies, the social sciences, and law."

- Gianni Vattimo (University of Turin), author of Beyond Interpretation, Nihilism and Emancipation, and Art''s Claim to Truth.

Blurb by Christopher Norris:

"These essays provide welcome evidence that the debate around deconstruction has at last moved beyond the stage of swirling polemics and risen to its challenge in a purposeful way. The authors are divided on a good many issues, often going to the intellectual heart of what this movement signifies - for better or worse - in relation to the values of enlightened critique and the philosophical discourse of modernity. Their contributions are uniformly perceptive and acute though frequently at odds when it comes to assessing the longer-range stakes and implications of Derrida''s address to that theme. The book will undoubtedly be of great interest not only to students of deconstruction but also - and especially - to those whose primary focus is its critical bearing on topics in ethics, law, political theory, international relations, and modern intellectual history. Altogether a notable and exceptionally well-conceived volume."

- Christopher Norris (Cardiff University), author of Deconstruction: Theory and Practice, The Contest of Faculties: Philosophy and Theory After Deconstruction, and Deconstruction and The Unfinished Project of Modernity.