On Dec 17, 2008, at 3:41 PM, WJhonson@aol.com wrote:
In a message dated 12/17/2008 12:21:31 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, snowspinner@gmail.com writes:
The only way to get a decent, NPOV summary of Derrida is to work through hard sources that require specialist knowledge.>>
Yes.. and? The only way to get a decent NPOV summary of Quantum Tunneling or Group Theory is also to work through hard sources that require specialist knowledge. That's why we have specialists who can do just this. But as in all things, those specialists must rely on their sources, not on their own speculations and postulates.
The issue is that when we deal with quantum tunneling or group theory, we deal with scientific papers that were not authored by quantum tunneling or group theory. They are thus secondary sources.
For Derrida, the main source for Derrida's philosophy is Derrida's writings. Secondary sources exist, but the good ones comment on and extend Derrida - they do not engage in "Derrida explained" approaches. But Derrida is a primary source, so no claims requiring specialist knowledge are allowed.
Which effectively rules out all uses of Derrida in the Derrida article.
-Phil