The Politics and Pedagogy of Mourning: On Responsibility in Eulogy

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Jacques Derrida famously stated in Specters of Marx that a justice worthy of the name must call us to render justice not only to the living but also to the dead. In The Politics and Pedagogy of Mourning, Timothy Secret argues that offering a persuasive account of such a duty requires establishing a discussion among the 20th centurys three key thinkers on death Heidegger, Levinas and Freud. Despite arguing that none of these three figures discourses offers us a complete account of our duty to the dead and that it remains impossible to unify them into a single, consistent and correct approach, Secret nevertheless offers an account of how Derrida managed to produce an always singular articulation of these discourses in each of the acts of eulogy he offered for his philosophical contemporaries. This is one of the first monographs to pay particular attention to the key role any contemporary account of the ethics of eulogy must grant to the revolutionary theoretical work on the materiality of crypts and phantoms offered by the psychoanalysts Nicolas Abraham and Maria Torok. Their work is shown to supplement major limitations in traditional philosophical accounts of the ethical relation. The account of eulogy as a privileged space where different discourses act on each other under the pressure of responding responsibly to an always singular loss proves itself essential reading not only for those interested in understanding Derridas overtly political works, but also offers an account of a performative training in negotiating aporias that arise in political society the result of which is a pedagogy in the art of civility whose relevance today is more timely than ever.

Reviews

Timothy Secrets book addresses a very important area of Derridas work that has thus far not received justly-deserved attention. The originality of Secrets project and its most significant impact, I believe, rests on the role accorded to Derridas eulogies as political acts offering a pedagogy in responsibility. * Kas Saghafi, Department of Philosophy, University of Memphis, USA *
Timothy Secrets book is quite remarkable: erudite, well written and argued, conceptually strong and original, it sheds a completely new light on a decisive moment of contemporary philosophy. There is little doubt that it will form an important contribution to debates about the work of the philosopher Jacques Derrida, but also the relationship between ethics, politics, ontology, psychoanalysis, and, not least, its designated object, the existential and moral phenomenon of mourning. * Etienne Balibar, Distinguished Professor, Comparative Literature, School of Humanities, UC Irvine, USA *
Timothy Secret has accomplished a great deal with this text. For those who already turn to the work of Jacques Derrida or Sigmund Freud to think about the ethics and politics of mourning, this work will be invaluable. For those who are skeptical of deconstruction or psychoanalysis, it will serve as a refreshingly clear and convincing argument that they should rethink their positions. For all who find themselves reflecting on the sobering if not impossible responsibilities of speaking about the dead, Secrets text will become an irreplaceable intellectual companion. * David W. McIvor, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Colorado State University, USA *
Combining eloquence and sharp philosophical insight in equal measure, Timothy Secret weaves a fascinating commentary on the treatment of questions of death and mourning in the work of four of the twentieth century's most prominent thinkers. His book represents a major contribution to our understanding of the ways in which Freud, Heidegger, Levinas and Derrida approach that most ineluctable of issues our common mortality. * Peter Dews, Director of Undergraduate Studies, School of Philosophy and Art History, University of Essex, UK *
Secret is a sensitive and illuminating reader of Derrida. -- Stuart Walton * Review31 *
[T]his is a book to read. -- Dawne McCance, University of Manitoba * Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews *
The challenge to develop a significant learning experience through Derridas eulogies could be difficult, but it is not impossible, and Secrets book is an essential tool to begin the process and overcome some of the barriers. The authors passion for the topic is evident; I believe this book is relevant and extraordinary, and it is an outstanding addition to the literature in the field of death and dying. For all of these reasons I recommend it to those interested in death, mourning, and eulogy as a way to memorialize those who have gone before us. -- Jos Luis Moreno * Adult Education Quarterly *

Author Bio

Timothy Secret is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Winchester, UK and was an AHRC/BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker 2012.