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What is philosophy? A question often asked, but usually in an
abstract or speculative way. Rarely do we find a case of
'philosophy' being determined in the real world. However, at
Cambridge in 1992, this is exactly what happened, as a debate took
place over the merits, or otherwise, of awarding an Honorary
Doctorate of Letters to the philosopher Jacques Derrida. Derrida's
supporters argued that his deconstruction of Western traditions of
thinking ushered in an important new manner of doing philosophy;
his detractors dismissed his work as charlatanism, philistinism -
and non-philosophy. As arguments raged over the validity of
introducing the canon of Continental philosophy to the Humanities
in British Higher Education - the so-called 'Theory Wars' -
Derrida's 'Cambridge Affair' focalized this decisive conflict more
than anything else. This is the first study of the Cambridge
Affair. Drawing upon archival and unpublished material,
little-known texts pertaining to the Affair, and Derrida's own
oeuvre, this original account offers an historical and
philosophical reconstruction of this crucial debate, evaluating it
against the body of work it put on trial.
What is philosophy? A question often asked, but usually in an
abstract or speculative way. Rarely do we find a case of
'philosophy' being determined in the real world. However, at
Cambridge in 1992, this is exactly what happened, as a debate took
place over the merits, or otherwise, of awarding an Honorary
Doctorate of Letters to the philosopher Jacques Derrida. Derrida's
supporters argued that his deconstruction of Western traditions of
thinking ushered in an important new manner of doing philosophy;
his detractors dismissed his work as charlatanism, philistinism -
and non-philosophy. As arguments raged over the validity of
introducing the canon of Continental philosophy to the Humanities
in British Higher Education - the so-called 'Theory Wars' -
Derrida's 'Cambridge Affair' focalized this decisive conflict more
than anything else. This is the first study of the Cambridge
Affair. Drawing upon archival and unpublished material,
little-known texts pertaining to the Affair, and Derrida's own
oeuvre, this original account offers an historical and
philosophical reconstruction of this crucial debate, evaluating it
against the body of work it put on trial.
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