At the Discretion of the (A-) Thing: Derrida and German thought

Abstract

In this presentation, I examine the doubleness of the thing that is usually masked by the appropriative tendencies of life. Once the enigma of thingliness is given its place, the influence of its own non-intentional inherencies can be recognized. Derrida is particularly interested in the virtual or spectral manifestations of things and the affective power they possess. In the background of each thing, das Ding resides, and with it, the force to call forth the real.