ABSTRACT
Derrida has a curious relationship with Edmund Heidegger. Although Heidegger is clearly a major influence, Derrida has not undertaken a systematic study of his philosophy. In a number of texts from ‘The Ends of Man’ onwards, Derrida uncovers and deconstructs what he sees as a metaphysical humanism inherent in Heidegger’s conception of Dasein. Through various analyses of the metaphors of Dasein’s self-proximity, Derrida seeks to show how ‘nearness’ to Dasein becomes the measure of Dasein’s propriety. Derrida is not satisfied with Heidegger’s reduction of responsibility and selfhood to the horizon of Dasein’s mortality. Dasein’s death takes place on the basis of a more general economy of death and sacrifice. Derrida’s deconstruction of the propriety of Dasein in Aporias largely follows his earlier dismantling of Heidegger’s humanism. Derrida reserves the term ‘theology’ as a pejorative, to designate the attempt to uphold metaphysics. But he uses vocabulary about ‘God’ to assist exploratory discussions about final causes and grounds.
