[lbo-talk] Re: Butler on Derrida

[Carl Remick]

>From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
>
>jimi ayler wrote:
>
>>all the dungeons i frequent in nyc are
>>all about the evaporation of meaning into the
>>immateriality of the text
>
>I'm reminded of the thread the other day on cognitive style & politics. 
>"Conservatives" are said to dislike ambiguity and to crave certainty and 
>stability. Seems like some of our left Derrida-haters share that 
>preference.

Hey, I'm all for ambiguity.  It's one of the reasons I like Emerson so much. 

  But I think there's a big difference between the skillful use of ambiguity 
to catalyze insight in the reader and the indiscriminate use of skepticism 
that simply breeds deep confusion in the reader -- which seems to have been 
Derrida's net contribution to the world.  Mais comme en dit en francais, 
chacun a son gout.

Carl