'I am the martyr (x)' : philosophical reflections of testimony and martyrdom
Historically, martyrdom and testimony have always been conjoined: martyrdom has always implied some form of witnessing, as testified to by the Greek and Arabic etymologies. Taking the locution âI am the martyr (x)â (popularised in Lebanese martyr video-testimonies of the 1980s) as exemplary testimony, it is argued that in the thought of Jacques Derrida each and every singular instance of testimony implies an act of martyrdom, and that a generalised and constitutive thinking of the testimoniality and passion implicit in any performative event and in each and every instance of the âIâ traverses Derridaâs thought. Following Derrida, it is proposed that diffĂ©rance be translatable as passion, albeit in a paleonymic sense that is far from simply passive. In its quasi-suicidal logic, passion is shown to deconstruct the very possibility of the âsui-â of suicide or the telos of sacrifice, instead affirming survival and the event of the other (for better or for worse). By probing the possibility of âI am the martyr (x)â, the âphilosophical reflectionsâ indicated by the title pose the motifs of passion and testimoniality as philosophyâs deconstructive conditions of possibility. By taking the
Sheikh, Shela
History by Topic not elsewhere classified
'I am the martyr (x)' : philosophical reflections of testimony and martyrdom. Historically, martyrdom and testimony have always been conjoined: martyrdom has always implied some form of witnessing, as testified to by the Greek and Arabic etymologies. Taking the locution âI am the martyr (x)â (popularised in Lebanese martyr video-testimonies of the 1980s) as exemplary testimony, it is argued that in the thought of Jacques Derrida each and every singular instance of testimony implies an act of martyrdom, and that a generalised and constitutive thinking of the testimoniality and passion implicit in any performative event and in each and every instance of the âIâ traverses Derridaâs thought. Following Derrida, it is proposed that diffĂ©rance be translatable as passion, albeit in a paleonymic sense that is far from simply passive. In its quasi-suicidal logic, passion is shown to deconstruct the very possibility of the âsui-â of suicide or the telos of sacrifice, instead affirming survival and the event of the other (for better or for worse). By probing the possibility of âI am the martyr (x)â, the âphilosophical reflectionsâ indicated by the title pose the motifs of passion and testimoniality as philosophyâs deconstructive conditions of possibility. By taking the
martyr philosophical_reflection testimony martyrdom historically martyrdom testimony always conjoin martyrdom always imply form testify greek arabic etymology taking martyr popularise lebanese martyr video exemplary testimony argue think jacques_derrida every singular instance testimony implies act martyrdom generalise constitutive thinking passion implicit performative event every instance traverse derrida thought following derrida propose passion albeit sense far simply passive quasi logic passion show deconstruct possibility suicide sacrifice instead affirm survival event good probe possibility martyr philosophical_reflection indicate title pose motif passion philosophy deconstructive condition_possibility take