Violence Inevitable : The Play of Force and Respect in Derrida, Nietzsche, Hobbes, and Berlin

Taking persons as the creators of meaning and value in the world, this book explores the inevitability of violence within any system of justice and examines the paradoxes that lie at the core of justice itself. It illuminates these themes through readings of Jacques Derrida, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Hobbes, and other important figures.

If humans are the creators of meaning and value, rather than the subjects of some higher or prior authority, how must we act in order to be true to this principle? Violence Inevitable explores the unavoidability of violence within any system of justice and examines the paradoxes that lie at the core of justice itself — paradoxes that play themselves out on every level of human intersubjectivity. Rick Parrish offers strong critical insight into original and interwoven readings of Jacques Derrida, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Hobbes, and Isaiah Berlin to demonstrate the conflicting relationship between violence and respect in the foundation of political living. Parrish updates these theories by finding significant parallels to contemporary American politics especially following 9/11. contends that justice requires the recognition of the certainty and necessity of both violence and peacefulness in society. This book is a valuable resource for scholars of political theory as well as those interested in post-9/11 security issues.