From Life to Survival

Contemporary continental thought is marked by a move away from the linguistic turn in twentieth-century European philosophy, as new materialisms and ontologies seek to leave behind the thinking of language central to poststructuralism as it has been traditionally understood. At the same time, biopolitical philosophy has brought critical attention to the question of life, examining new formations of life and death. Within this broader turn, Derridean deconstruction, with its apparent focus on language, writing, and textuality, is generally set aside. This book, by contrast, shows the continued relevance of deconstruction for contemporary thoughts engagement with resolutely material issues and with matters of life and the living. Trumbull elaborates Derridas thinking of life across his work, specifically his recasting of life as life death, and in turn, survival or living on. Derridas activation of Freud, Trumbull shows, is central to this problematic and its consequences, especially deconstructions ethical and political possibilities. The book traces how Derridas early treatment of Freud and his mobilization of Freuds death drive allow us to grasp the deconstructive thought of life as constitutively exposed to death, the logic subsequently rearticulated in the notion of survival. Derridas recasting of life as survival, Trumbull demonstrates, allows deconstruction to destabilize inherited understandings of life, death, and the political, including the dominant configurations of sovereignty and the death penalty.