Ellen T. Armour

Thinking Otherwise: Derrida’s Contribution to Philosophy of Religion

Derrida’s early deconstructive project did not simply entail reading texts against the grain but involved profound attention to that which had been excluded by the binary logic that influenced much of Western thought. His later work undertook more searching investigations into the nature of friendship, hospitality, the gift. Religious themes – such as messianism and infinite justice also feature in Derrida’s later thought, though he maintained his accustomed equivocal stance and refrains from supporting any position associated with established religious doctrines or tradition.