Jacques Derrida's Theory and Practice of Philosophy, Education and the University

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This research sought to elucidate the questions of philosophy, education and the university in the work of Jacques Derrida on the basis of his style of deconstruction through the following research activities. 1) We analyzed Derrida's essays on the university from the perspective of the questions of faith and place. This approach allowed us to read Derrida's analysis of Plato's conception of "chora" (place) in Timaeus as his own thinking on the place for education. 2) We made presentations based on Derrida's philosophy of education at a number of international conferences (France, South Korea, the U.S.A. and Argentina) and discussed actual present-day problems of philosophy, education and the university with researchers in different countries. These activities allowed us to more deeply consider the logic of efficiency and excellence, the possibilities of the Humanities, and the relationships between academic research and evaluation systems in the present global context in which a logic of administrative management tends to regulate the modern idea of the university as "the union between research and education." 3) We produced a documentary film, "The Right to Philosophy," on the International College of Philosophy, founded by, among others, Jacques Derrida and Francois Chatelet in 1983 in Paris. This film has been shown at numerous locations in the U.S.A., France and Japan (at more than 20 universities). Round table discussions following each viewing served to deepen the debate on the relationship between deconstruction and education. We considered with various panelists how best to imagine and put into practice a research and educational institution for the Humanities in this epoch of global capitalism.