E-Book Overview
During the 1980s Jacques Derrida wrote and published three incisive essays under the title Geschlecht, a German word for “generation” and “sexuality.” These essays focused on the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, taking up the rarely discussed issue of sexual difference in Heidegger’s thought. A fourth essay—actually the third in the series—was never completed and never published. In Phantoms of the Other, David Farrell Krell reconstructs this third Geschlecht on the basis of archival materials and puts it in the context of the entire series. Touching on the themes of sexual difference, poetics, politics, and criticism as practiced by Heidegger, Derrida’s unfinished third essay offers a penetrating critical analysis of Heidegger’s views on sexuality and Heidegger’s reading of the love poems of Georg Trakl, one of the greatest Expressionist poets of the German language, who died during the opening days of the First World War.
E-Book Content
www.ebook3000.com Phantoms of the Other www.ebook3000.com SUNY series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy ————— Dennis J. Schmidt, editor www.ebook3000.com Phantoms of the Other Four Generations of Derrida’s Geschlecht David Far r ell Kr ell www.ebook3000.com The co ver s hows a det ail o f a p hotograph o f t hree o f t he Trakl c hildren t aken circa 1897. G eorg i s a t a ge 10, G retl a t a ge 5. The p hotograph i s in t he co llection o f t he Forschungsinstitut B renner-Archiv o f t he University o f I nnsbruck, w hich g enerously granted permission to reproduce it here. The concept for the cover design is by David Matthew Krell, of dmkdesign. Published by State University of New York Press, Albany © 2015 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic t ape, m echanical, p hotocopying, r ecording, o r o therwise w ithout t he p rior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production, Eileen Nizer Marketing, Anne M. Valentine Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Krell, David Farrell. Phantoms of the other : four generations of Derrida's Geschlecht / David Farrell Krell. pages cm. — (SUNY series in contemporary continental philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4384-5449-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-4384-5451-1 (ebook) 1. Heidegger, Martin, 1889–1976. 2. National socialism and philosophy. 3. Poetry. 4. Derrida, Jacques. I. Title. B3279.H49K75 2014 193—dc23 2014007245 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 www.ebook3000.com for Elena Sophia and Elias Dylan and their dream Does not the dream, all by itself, demonstrate that of which it is dreaming, which is there precisely to make us dream? —Jacques Derrida www.ebook3000.com www.ebook3000.com Contents Preface ix Abbreviations of Works Cited Introduction xiii 1 1. Geschlecht I: Sexual Difference, Ontological Difference 19 2. Geschlecht II: Heidegger’s Singular Hand 47 3. Of Spirit 69 4. Geschlecht IV: Heidegger’s Philopolemological Ear 107 5. Geschlecht III: A Truncated Typescript 131 6. Geschlecht III: The Phantom of the Other 171 7. The Magnetism of Georg and Gretl Trakl 223 Appendix A: Poems Discussed in the Present Volume 257 Appendix B: Poems Undiscussed 311 Index