another analytic liked by continentals

GRATTON IS RIGHT, Austin on performativity is another analytic favorite among continentals. I should have mentioned Austin.

And yes, Peter and I both encountered Bill Martin’s joint Davidson/Derrida enthusiasm at DePaul, some years apart. You all know I’m not a great fan of Derrida either, but Peter is.

I almost wish I could spend an hour inside the mind of a Derridean to learn a bit more about what excites them, because I’ve just never felt a moment of intellectual excitement when reading him, and at times you have to start wondering if you’re color blind. “Plato’s Pharmacy” always seemed respectably interesting, but not the sort of thing that would change my life. Of Spirit bored me stiff: it seemed too precious to claim that everything revolves around that one word “spirit” in Heidegger, since you could do exactly the same thing with about 20 other words in Heidegger. And I really detest “White Mythology” for reasons I explained in detail in Guerrilla Metaphysics— I don’t much like the phrase “hatchet job,” and have probably never used it before now, but I’m perfectly willing to call “White Mythology” a grandstanding hatchet job on Aristotle. You get the point… I spent part of my youth surrounded by people who were visibly excited by Derrida, and to this day I still don’t understand why. It’s an awkward position to be in, feeling cold toward the enthusiasms of all who surround you. And that’s why I’m glad the early 1990’s are long gone, though I’d love to see a bit more of Michael Jordan in his prime– the best thing about living in Chicago in those days. Sheer athletic genius. Even the Derrideans agreed with me about Jordan, so we had good times together watching the Bulls, at least.