Gestures of Disarmament: Derrida, Abraham, and the Secrets of Violence
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2024-08-30
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en
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There are various texts in which Jacques Derrida studies the figure of Abraham. In none of them, however, he discusses a gesture of powerlessness in the story of the binding of Isaac. When Michal Ben-Naftali suggests this dimension to the moment of sacrifice, Derrida admits that he has never thought about Abraham in this way—but is willing to accept her hypothesis. Taking this admission as its point of departure, this thesis develops a reading of the powerlessness of Abraham from within a Derridean framework. It will highlight that his discussion of secrecy and disarmament offer some fruitful points of departure for such a reading, and argue that a certain powerlessness is implicit in Derrida's discussion of Abraham—but not without somewhat disturbing his reading of Abraham in, amongst others, ‘The Gift of Death’.
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Faculteit der Filosofie, Theologie en Religiewetenschappen