To Think Is to Say No

To Think Is to Say No presents, for the first time in English, a remarkable early lecture course delivered by Jacques Derrida at the Sorbonne during the 1960–1961 academic year. Composed of four sessions and drawn from Derrida’s handwritten manuscripts, this volume offers a rare glimpse into the development of one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century.

Taking its title from a phrase by the French philosopher Alain—“to think is to say no”—the course explores the relati...