Promise and Undecidability. The ethical-political commitment in Jacques Derrida’s Of Spirit. Heidegger and the question

Abstract

“The purpose of this paper is to examine Jacques Derrida’s treatment of the concepts of “ethical responsibility” and “political decision” in his own work through the lens of Martin Heidegger’s On the Spirit. Firstly, I will analyze the notion of “promise” as a means to question the privileging of the question in Heidegger’s work, while also illustrating the ethical event through the act of reading itself. Secondly, I will delve into the political dimension of deconstruction by exploring the concept of “Undecidability,” which enables the possibility of just decision-making precisely because it occurs in the absence of a rational foundation. Finally, I will consider the implications of Heidegger’s adherence to Nazism from the perspective of the logic of textual discourse, examining the sometimes antagonistic discourses uttered in the name of “spirit” and emphasizing the need to not only “condemn” but also “think” Nazism.”