Heraclitus and Derrida: Presocratic Deconstruction

Famous for their enigmatic ambiguity, the fragmentary texts of the Presocratic philosopher Heraclitus have puzzled and fascinated readers for over two millennia. This comparative analysis of Heraclitus and Jacques Derrida reveals the ancient roots of Derrida’s contemporary discourses on deconstruction, logocentrism, and différance. It also demonstrates that reading Derrida enhances further elaboration of the arguments in the Heraclitean fragments. An excellent resource for students of philosophy, comparative literature, and literary theory, this groundbreaking study offers an accessible account of the ancient antecedent to a major trend in the contemporary theory of language, literature, and philosophy.