This letter was published today in the New York Times about the pathetic and silly obituary of Jacques Derrida published in the paper:
"To the Editor:
Re "Jacques Derrida, Abstruse Theorist, Dies in Paris at 74'' (front page, Oct. 10):
To characterize Jacques Derrida, one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century, as an "abstruse theorist'' is to use criteria that would disqualify Einstein, Wittgenstein and Heisenberg.
You describe deconstruction as another of those "fashionable, slippery'' philosophies that emerged from France and one that some Americans felt "was undermining many of the traditional standards of classical education.''
In fact, Mr. Derrida wrestled with central works of the Western tradition, including Plato, Shakespeare and the Declaration of Independence, none of which he slighted.
You quote the view that "many otherwise unmalicious people have in fact been guilty of wishing for deconstruction's demise - if only to relieve themselves of the burden of trying to understand it.''
We will leave to others to decide whether your obituary is unmalicious. There can be no question, however, that it relieves readers of the burden of trying to understand Jacques Derrida and deconstruction.
Samuel WeberKenneth ReinhardLos Angeles, Oct. 12, 2004The writers are, respectively, a professor of humanities at Northwestern University and associate professor of English and comparative literature at U.C.L.A. The letter was also signed by more than 300 academics, architects, artists, musicians and writers. A full list of the signers is at www.humanities.uci.edu/remembering_jd/."