ABSTRACT
This chapter speculatively investigates the relationship between Jacques Derrida’s metaphysical critique (deconstruction) and Michel Foucault’s conception of the politics of life (bio-politics). Drawing on crucial recent works by Kalpana Rahita Seshadri1 and Kevin Attell2 that have posited strong connections between Derrida and “the greatest contemporary divulgator of Foucault’s biopolitical narrative” (Giorgio Agamben),3 the chapter then examines Foucault’s original bio-political thinking – namely, his work on Jeremy Bentham’s “Panopticon” – in an attempt to connect this to a lesser-known area of Derrida’s deconstructive juridical thought.
