Dante and Derrida

Francis J. Ambrosio

Description

Reading Dante's Commedia alongside Jacques Derrida's later religious writings, Francis J. Ambrosio explores what these works reveal about religion as a fundamental dynamic of human existence, about freedom and responsibility, and about the significance of writing itself. Ambrosio argues that both the many telling differences between them and the powerful bonds that unite them across centuries show that Dante and Derrida share an identity as religious writers that arises from the human experiences of faith, hope, and love in response to the divine mystery of being human. For both Dante and Derrida, Ambrosio contends, "scriptural religion" reveals that the paradoxical tension of freedom and absolute responsibility must lead to the mystery of forgiveness, a secret that these two share and faithfully keep by surrendering to its necessity to die so as always to begin again anew.

On the Pre-text or As a Pre-face

Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction

1. Vita Nuova: The Promise of Writing

The Secret of Beginning: A Parable
The Promise of a New Life
Transcribing the Promise

2. Inferno: The Aporia of Forgiveness

Writing in Exile
“I Desire Mercy, not Sacrifice”

3. Purgatorio: Re-turning to the Scene of Forgiveness

Accepting Forgiveness
Forgiving Gives Giving

4. Paradiso: Turning Tears into Smiles

Enjoying Forgiveness
Dante’s Portrait Gallery

Conclusion In Memoriam: A Smile in Passing

Notes
Index

Sujets

• Lycée
• Philosophie
• Philosophie
• Philosophie du langage
• Philosophie de la religion
• Philosophy of religion
• Philosophie de la langue

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 février 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791480410
• Langue: English

Extrait

DA AND NTE DERRIDA

FacetoFace

Francis J. Ambrosio

DA N T E A N D D E R R I DA

SUNY Series in Theology and Continental Thought

Douglas L. Donkel,editor

DANTE AND DERRIDA

Face to Face

Francis J. Ambrosio

STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS

Publised by State University of New York Press Albany

© 2007 State University of New York

All rigts reserved

Printed in te United States of America

No part of tis book may be used or reproduced in any manner watsoever witout written permission. No part of tis book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mecanical, potocopying, recording, or oterwise witout te prior permission in writing of te publiser.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ambrosio, Francis J.  Dante and Derrida : face to face / Francis J. Ambrosio.  p. cm. — (SUNY series in teology and continental tougt)  Includes bibliograpical references and index.  ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-7005-3 (ardcover : alk. paper)  1. Dante Aligieri, 1265–1321—Influence. 2. Derrida, Jacques. PQ4335.A43 2006 851'.1—dc22

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

I. Title.

II. Series.

2006014433

For Deborah,

“Vedea visi a carità suadi,

D’altrui lume fregati e di suo riso”

(Par., xxxi, 49–50)

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On the Pre-text OR

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

i

xii

15 15 17 38

As a Pre-face

Chapter OneV ITA N UOVA :The Promise of Writing Te Secret of Beginning: A Parable Te Promise of a New Life Transcribing te Promise

Index

Notes

InM EMORIAM :. .A Smile in Passing .

Conclusion

213

229

239

159 160 173

Chapter Four Paradiso: Turning Tears into Smiles Enjoying Forgiveness Dante’s Portrait Gallery

x

1

xv

vii

Chapter TwoI NFERNO :The Aporia of Forgiveness Writing in Exile “I Desire Mercy, not Sacrifice”

Introduction

Chapter ThreeP URGAT ORIO : Re-turning to the Scene of Forgiveness Accepting Forgiveness Forgiving Gives Giving

Contents

51 53 73

117 118 135

This page intentionally left blank.

On the PretextorAs a Preface

“How can anoter see into me, into my most secret self, witout my being able to see in tere myself? And witout my being able to see im in me. And if my secret self, tat wic can be revealed only to te oter, to te wolly oter, to God if you wis, is te secret tat I will never reflect on, tat I will never know or experience or possess as my own, ten wat sense is tere in saying tat it is my secret, or in saying more generally tat a secret belongs, tat it is proper to or belongs to some one. It’s peraps tere tat we find te secret of secrecy. Namely, tat it is not a matter of knowing and tat it is tere for no one. A secret doesn’t belong, it can never be said to be at ome or in its place. he question of te self: wo am I not in te sense of wo am I but rater wo is tis I tat can say wo? Wat is te I and wat becomes of responsibility once te identity of te I trembles in secret.” (GD,92)

Truly, I do not know wy I must write tis book, so I must begin by asking for your forgiveness for aving done so witout knowing wy and terefore, necessarily, witout knowing ow. Having said tis, I ave in effect said in a different way all tat I believe te book truly as to say. So if you read furter, it is your responsibility and it will be for te sake of tat difference, to decide weter or not you believe it truly makes a difference and, more precisely, ow. For myself, I believe tat te difference te book makes is tis: it traces and remarks in te texts of Dante and Derrida two episodes in te istory of forgiveness. Tese episodes appear as te signs of an “autobiograpical” element tat figures decisively in tese texts, specifically in te confessional voices in wic tey are written. As confessional autobiograpies te texts of Dante and Derrida tat tis book considers are religious in caracter. In tese texts “religion” signifies a passionate concern for constant conversion to per- sonal responsibility instigated by te need for forgiveness. Te religious expe- rience of te need for forgiveness is te context for all questions of personal identity and responsibility. But tis experience is problematic in te strongest sense: it locates bot te necessity and te impossibility of love in te face of te “Oter,” tat is, in te face of deat. Te experience of te necessity and impossibility of love in te face of te Oter/deat marks te texts of bot

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