Explores the biographical, historical and philosophical connections between Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault Derrida and Foucault are unquestionably two of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. Both share a similar motivation to challenge our fundamental structures of meaning - in texts, political structures, and epistemic and discursive practices - in order to inspire new ways of thinking. Between Foucault and Derrida explores the notorious Cogito debate and includes: the central articles, an important piece by Jean-Marie Beyssade, along with a letter Foucault wrote to Beyssade in response - both these pieces available for the first time in English translation. In the second part of the book, 10 essays written by some of the most well-known scholars working in contemporary continental philosophy address the various philosophical intersections and divergences of these two profoundly important thinkers. The first collection of the central essays involved in the Cogito debate between Foucault and Derrida Includes the first English translations of Jean-Marie Beyssade's important 1973 article on the debate and Foucault's letter in response to it Some of the best-known scholars working in continental philosophy today examine where Foucault and Derrida converge and diverge, and how they ultimately shaped each other's projects Contributors Amy Allen - Ellen Armour - Yubraj Aryal - Jean-Marie Beyssade - Vernon W. Cisney - Jacques Derrida - Fred Evans - Michele Foucault - Peter Gratton - Leonard Lawlor - Edward McGushin - Nicolae Morar - Jeff Nealon - Christopher Penfield - Arkady Plotnitsk - Paul Rekret - Alan Schrift

Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault are unquestionably two of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. Both share a similar motivation to challenge our fundamental structures of meaning - in texts, political structures, and epistemic and discursive practices - in order to inspire new ways of thinking. Between Foucault and Derrida explores the notorious Cogito debate, an argument between the two thinkers about the idea of madness in Descartes' Meditations. The first half of the book reproduces the central articles plus an important piece by Jean-Marie Beyssade and a letter Foucault wrote to Beyssade in response both these pieces available for the first time in English translation. In the second half of the book, four essays by some of the most well-known scholars working in contemporary continental philosophy address the various philosophical intersections and divergences of these two profoundly important thinkers.