The Philosophy of the Limit by Ucilla Cornell

The Philosophy of the Limit by Ucilla Cornell

In The Philosophy of the Limit Drucilla Cornell examines the relationship of deconstruction to questions of ethics, justice and legal interpretation. She argues that renaming deconstruction "the philosophy of the limit" will allow us to be more precise about what deconstruction actually is philosophically and hence to articulate more clearly its significance for law. Cornell's focus on the importance of the limit and the centrality of the gender hierarchy allows her to offer a view of jurisprudence different from both the critical social theory and analytic jurisprudence.

"This book is a major intellectual eventNothing is more necessary and timely today than thinking through the possibility of a nonviolent relationship to the Other. The Philosophy of the Limit does just that. Learned, eloquent, passionate, rigorous, this book is not just a brilliantly original appropriation of Levinas, Lacan, and Derrida for legal studies, feminism, and frontier work in ethics. It also turns back from the perspective of legal theory to make a signal intervention in the domains of philosophy, literary theory, and cultural studies." -- J. Hillis Miller, University of California, Irvine
"The book constitutes an important intervention in contemporary intellectual debates by showing the ethical and juridical relevance of trends which are often dismissed as amoral or destructive. By rephrasing Derridian deconstruction as "philosophy of the limit," Cornell draws attention to what eludes our grasp: to alterity and the "Other" who is not at our disposal but demands our recognition and respect. Forging an innovative vista, Cornell integrates insights of Derrida, Adorno, Lacan, and Levinas (as well as recent jurisprudence), underscoring their significance for a transformative moral and legal practice. Splendidly argued and lucidly written, the book helps to refocus and reorient ongoing discussions about modernity and postmodernity." -- Fred Dallmayr, University of Notre Dame
"The Philosophy of the Limit is a brilliant exercise in thinking through major themes of deconstruction. In her encounter with the representative critical thinkers of today, Drucilla Cornell challenges us to follow her complex arguments and powerful rhetoric up to the limits of thinking finitude." -- Agnes Heller, Hannah Arendt Professor of Philosophy, New School for Social Research

Drucilla Cornell is professor of political science, women's studies, and comparative literature at Rutgers University and has recently been appointed as chair of philosophy and law at the University of Cape Town. She has written numerous articles on contemporary continental thought, critical theory, grass-roots political and legal mobilization, jurisprudence, women's literature, feminism, aesthetics, psychoanalysis, and political philosophy. A produced playwright, her plays The Dream Cure, Background Interference, and Lifeline have been performed in California, New York, Florida, and Ohio. Her dramatization of James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake runs every year in Dublin, Ireland.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780415902397
ISBN 10	0415902398
Title	The Philosophy of the Limit
Author	Ucilla Cornell
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Taylor & Francis Ltd
Year published	1992-04-10
Number of pages	230
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.