"Il n'y a pas de hors-texte" - once more

Max Deutscher

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Spivak translates Derrida's "il n'y a pas de hors-texte" as "there is nothing outside the text." By considering how the aphorism works within his study of Rousseau on sexual and textual supplements, and by reviewing related expressions in French, a mistranslation is revealed. This is not a simple error, however. The distortion is generated by Derrida's own broader context. We must not only distinguish signification from reference but also place the aphorism within Derrida's allusion, in the first part of Of Grammatology, to an all-embracing arche-writing. The paper ends in thus opening out the discussion of a textual "inside" or "outside."
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)98-124
    Number of pages27
    JournalSymposium : Canadian journal of continental philosophy
    Volume18
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2014

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of '"Il n'y a pas de hors-texte" - once more'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this