Table of Contents
Preface xiii
Acknowledgements xvii
Chapter 1 The Limits and Possibilities of Postmetaphysical God-Talk. A Conversation between Heidegger, Levinas and Derrida: An Introduction 1
1 Introduction, rationale and delimitation of study 1
2 Problem statement and focus 8
3 Guiding questions 9
4 Method 9
5 Chapter layout 9
Chapter 2 The Limits and Possibilities of Heidegger's Wounded Metaphysics and the Limits and Possibilities it offers to Postmetaphysical God-Talk 13
1 Introduction 13
1.1 Why Heidegger? 13
1.2 The limitations of his thought 14
1.3 The possibilities of his thought 15
1.4 Three interrelated thought-paths (Gedankenwege) towards the wounding of Metaphysics 18
2 Verwundung der Metaphysik: the wounding of metaphysics 18
2.1 The meaning of Being 20
2.2 Aletheia or A-letheia (the truth of Being) 31
2.2.1 Introduction 31
2.2.2 A turn (Kehre) on his earlier thinking and the development of the Seinsgeschichte 32
2.2.3 The Myth of the two beginnings 34
2.2.4 Thinking back to the great Anfang and the new Beginning and the possibilities of the truth (aletheia) of Being 36
2.2.5 Machination and lived experience and the truth of Be-ing 43
2.2.6 The Greek origin of machination and the possible other beginning 48
2.2.7 Aletheia: truth of Being 51
2.3 Ereignis (the event of Being or disclosure of appropriation) 53
2.3.1 The translation of Ereignis 55
2.3.2 Understanding Ereignis 56
3 Language, the house of Being 63
4 Limits and possibilities of wounded metaphysical God-talk 74
4.1 The limitations of the Last God in and as Ereignis 75
4.2 Possibilities of talking of the Last God 76
Chapter 3 The Limits and Possibilities of Levinas' 'Other Otherwise' and the Limits and Possibilities it offers to Postmetaphysical God-Talk 79
1 Introduction 79
2 Ethics and towards a language of alterity 82
2.1 The self and the face of the Other towards ethical metaphysics 83
2.1.1 The face as the disruption of the totality 90
2.2 The naked self and the signification of substitution: saying 94
3 The language of alterity: Transcendence and infinity towards possibilities of God-talk 106
4 The (im)possibilities of Levinas' God-talk 114
4.1 The possibilities of Levinas' God-talk 116
4.1.1 God coming-to-idea in the thought of the trace in the face of the Other: Illeity 118
4.1.2 God coming-to-idea in the idea of the Infinite, the Infinite in me 122
4.1.3 God coming-to-idea in the Good beyond Being 125
4.2 God-talk 134
4.2.1 Creation 134
4.2.2 Election 135
4.2.3 "Here I am" 136
4.3 The impossibility of Levinas' God-talk 136
4.3.1 (Im)possibility of God-talk as prophetic signification 138
4.3.2 The (im)possibility of God-talk between illeity and il y a 140
4.3.3 (Im)possibility of God-talk: language, said and saying 142
5 The (impossibility of concluding a chapter on Levinas' God-talk 145
5.1 Always already in the world (in language) sub-jected to old signs to speak and reflect on the subjection of the self-for-the-Other 147
5.2 Being in the world and the coming to idea of God 151
Chapter 4 The Limits and Possibilities of Derrida's Différance for Postmetaphysical God-Talk 163
1 Impossible yet necessary introduction to Derrida's thought 163
2 Speech - sign - writing - context 165
2.1 Where to begin: a supplemented beginning 165
2.2 The priority of speech in Western thought 174
2.3 The impossibility of thinking the sign without writing: speech is already Writing 175
2.4 Le texte en général and autodeconstruction 187
2.5 Deconstruction 191
3 Différance and the closure of metaphysics 194
3.1 Différance 195
3.2 The closure of metaphysics 203
4 Heidegger, Levinas and Derrida at the end of philosophy or the closure of metaphysics and a vulnerability toward the tout autre 212
4.1 Derrida's interpretation of Heidegger 212
4.2 Derrida's interpretation of Levinas 221
4.2.1 The impossible or the impossible 222
4.2.2 Tout autre 223
4.2.3 The advent within language of that which is beyond language 225
4.2.4 The relationship to the feminine other 225
5 The limits and impossibilities of Derrida's God-talk: Derrida's yes and no to negative theology 226
5.1 The limits of Derrida's différance for postmetaphysical God-talk 230
5.1.1 Différance "is" not a transcendental signified nor a positive idea of a god or God 231
5.1.2 Différance "is" not negative theology 234
5.2 The possibilities of Derrida's différance for postmetaphysical God-talk 241
5.2.1 Différance is grammatological and not mystical and the return or the haunting of negative theology 245
5.3 Negative Theology: How to avoid speaking 256
5.3.1 Plato 256
5.3.2 Christian 269
5.3.3 Heidegger 272
5.4 Beyond proper names, theology without theology, religion without religion, theology without God, yet saving the name God 275
6 In-conclusion 286
Chapter 5 The Impossible Possibilities of Postmetaphysical God-Talk, a Conversation Between Heidegger, Levinas and Derrida: Theopoetics and Holy Folly 289
1 Introduction 289
2 In summary: a conversation at the closure of Metaphysics 289
3 The first oblique offering: to be already in the text is to begin with an image, a sign, an inscription. Is there any other beginning? 297
4 The second oblique offering: The impossible possibility of Theopoetics as postmetaphysical God-talk 300
4.1 Theopoetics 301
4.2 Theopoetry and the danger of theopolitics 303
4.3 The temptations in the desert: the temptations in the name of God 305
4.3.1 The first temptation: the all-powerful author 306
4.3.2 The second temptation: conclusive meaning and thus certain knowledge 308
4.3.3 The third temptation: the power of order 309
4.3.4 Last temptation: Final judgment 309
4.4 Theopoetics between Theopoetry and Theopolitics and an exemplary Narrative 310
5 The third oblique offering: The impossible possibility of holy folly as a Possible postmetaphysical God-talk 321
5.1 Morosophia as the third way and alternative to both logos and mythos 325
5.1.1 Folly as the way to wisdom 328
5.1.2 Morosophia as the way in postmodernity at the closure of metaphysics 330
5.2 Byzantine Holy Fools and Erasmus' In Praise of Folly 331
5.2.1 Salos on the margins of the early Christian asceticism of the desert Monasteries 337
6 Theopoetics (morosophia) and Holy Folly (salos): a dance of the impossible Possibility 344
7 At the closure of a study 345
Bibliography 347
