"Hermeneutics," "death of god" and "dissolution of the subject"

a phenomenological appraisal

Matthieu Casalis

pp. 262-275

in: Ronald Bruzina, Bruce Wilshire (eds), Crosscurrents in phenomenology, The Hague, Nijhoff, 1978

Abstract

What follows is an attempt to appraise phenomenologically some "structuralist"¹ themes present in Michel Foucault's The Order of Things as they are rooted implicitly or explicitly² in Nietzsche's philosophy. The main part of this essay will expose and expand on these themes in as neutral a way as possible, the question of their validity being provisionally bracketed. At the end of the essay, the brackets will be lifted; however, in order for the debate between phenomenology and "structuralism" to be productive, it should not restrict itself to a one-way process. It is my contention that the questioning of "structuralism" by phenomenology can prove to be most fruitful if the latter is also ready to let itself be questioned by the former.

Cited authors

Nietzsche Friedrich

Foucault Michel