“Safe, Intact”: Derrida, Nancy, and the “Deconstruction of Christianity”

Abstract

An exploration of the occurrence of the words “safe” and “intact” in the writings of Derrida and Nancy, the author likes to suggest, allows us to catch a glimpse of some of the fundamental differences between the late works of these two thinkers as well as to distinguish the most salient features of their divergent interpretations of deconstruction. This chapter concentrates on the intersection of the later writings of Derrida and Nancy concerning the general topic of “religion”. What is of particular interest is the significant role that the interpretation of the term salut - which in French has two meanings “greeting, salutation” as well as “salvation” - plays in this interaction. In broad outlines, for Derrida, the goal of “religion”, if it can be said to have one, is to keep the living – the adherents of “religion” - safe, unscathed, and intact.

Publication Title

A Companion to Derrida

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