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How did Derrida’s later writings address Marxism, psychoanalysis, law, and ethics?
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Deconstruction
French philosopher of deconstruction Jacques Derrida, 1994.
In his later writings, Jacques Derrida expanded the scope of deconstruction beyond purely philosophical texts to engage directly with political, legal, and ethical concerns.
- Marxism: In Spectres de Marx (1993), Derrida addressed the legacy of Marxism, exploring themes of debt, mourning, and the emergence of a "New International" in the post-Cold War era.1
- Psychoanalysis: Derrida continued his engagement with psychoanalysis, most notably in La Carte postale: de Socrate à Freud et au-delà (1980), where he examined the work of Sigmund Freud and the implications of his theories.1
- Law and Ethics: Derrida’s later essays frequently turned toward political, legal, and ethical issues. His work consistently challenged the "metaphysics of presence" and the quest for absolute totality, which he argued were inherently linked to violence and oppression. By deconstructing these binary oppositions, he sought to expose the hierarchies of power that sustain them, advocating for a philosophy that remains open to the "other" and the complexities of meaning that traditional systems often ignore.123