UNDERSTANDING OF DIFFERENCE (American University Studies Series V, Philosophy) [Hardcover]

Douglas L. Donkel (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 221 pages
• Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing (December 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0820419613
• ISBN-13: 978-0820419619
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,706,969 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heidegger, Derrida and (their) "difference", March 29, 2004

By 

Panayotis ZAMAROS (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: UNDERSTANDING OF DIFFERENCE (American University Studies Series V, Philosophy) (Hardcover)

If there is a text to be used as the starting point towards an understanding of "difference" and its philosophical inquiry and description, I think this is the one.

This is because Donkel provides us with not only a clear and comprehensive account of how "difference" has been thought by Heidegger and Derrida, but also insightful explanations based on their original work, which is more than adequately referred to. Thus, let me give you some indications.

The introductory chapter 1 explains in summary but useful form the conceptualisation of "difference" in Heidegger and Derrida. Specifically, that with the former it is a (present) difference between Being and being - an ontological gap (taken up by Eric Gould for instance), whereas with the latter it is a difference within Being and being that upsets their presence. Donkel further gives an outline of the key issues dealt with in each subsequent chapter, in addition to making hermeneutic considerations.

In chapter 2, Donkel discusses the background of the ontological gap in Heidegger by means of two key notions, namely, "presencing" and "appropriation". The former expresses the way in which Being (as ground) and being (as grounded) are not only revealed, but also (intimately) associated: `that which brings about presencing is what brings about the present' (p. 41). And this is "difference". If "difference" is the presupposition of the relation between Being and being, for Donkel this suggests a `mutual dependency' (p. 53) on difference (without falling into the trap of either a temporal or a logical prior). Thus, "difference" as a dependent priority is what sets Being and being apart while holds them together: this is the event of appropriation. It is this event that gives "difference" its mediating role, placing Being and being in a relation, that Donkel qualifies as `external' (p. 92), in that it maintains unchanged their identity.

This is then placed for examination against the relation depicted by Derrida. In chapter 3, Donkel starts by discussing the notion of "différance" as difference, no longer as grounding for a relation, but rather as that which problematizes presence considering the deferring character of différance. This suggests for Donkel a `form of internality' (p. 100). He points out that Heidegger (metaphorically) alludes to internality but does not consider it to be (indeed) the case. This then seems to be the fundamental issue that sets Heidegger and Derrida apart - two orientations that can be has termed "intimacy" (internal) and "integrity" (external) to follow Thomas Kasulis. In its internal characterization, difference with Derrida becomes on the one hand constructive, while on the other destructive as it problematizes what it constructs. It is both a `potential of the elements and the basis of their non-actualization' (p. 127), which Donkel reads as (strategically) paradoxical.

Despite the difference in how Heidegger and Derrida account for difference, they share a common point: both consider difference to be a `producer' (p. 133), as having effects. This for Donkel is equally paradoxical because différance problematizes meaning and thus `any characterization of différance is merely another effect already shown to be problematic in light of its own claims' (p. 146). To shed some light on this issue, Donkel critically examines in chapter 4 the texts offered by David Wood and John Caputo to conclude that `one must be willing ... to follow différance to the point ... where metaphysics has been called into question' (p. 159). Otherwise put, one needs to distinguish the moment when différance is meaningful and decidable, from another when it is undecidable, when it postpones meaning itself - without necessarily implying its own destruction and therefore meaning-less.

In the concluding chapter 5, Donkel sums up the key issues and arguments made throughout his study and, most importantly, offers directions for further inquiry in the philosophy of difference.

Overall, it is a well-written and well-thought text that avoids complication despite the abstraction that surrounds the debate on "difference". Thus, if you are interested in either Heidegger or Derrida, or both, or simply in the philosophy of "difference", this is the ideal text to start with - and if your appetite for "difference" is sufficiently whetted, take up Donkel's edited reader or look up the bibliography section for additional texts.