Description
This book offers a sustained reading of Derrida’s thought concerning definitions of the human in opposition to animals. What is man? Judith Still examines Derrida’s contribution to this long standing philosophical and political debate, exploring a range of writings including fables and fiction. This leads to ethical questions about how humans treat animals: sacrificing animals (say, in factory farms) while extending love to pets. And it leads to political questions about how we dehumanise ‘outsiders’, from historical matters such as colonialism and slavery to contemporary issues such as State Terror in response to ‘rogue states’. It combines theoretical rigour and sophistication with a clear and engaging style. It includes analysis of some of the key animals that Derrida’ evokes. It offers in depth coverage with detailed attention to Derrida’s writing – both in the original French and the impact of the English translation – as well as the contexts in which, and against which, he was writing. It evokes a rich variety of other writers on the subject, from antiquity to the present: from Plato to Plutarch, and from Hobbes to Haraway.
