Illegibility

"The philosophical significance of Maurice Blanchot's writings has rarely been in doubt. Specifying the nature and implications of his thinking has proved much less easy, particularly in reference to the key figure of G. W. F. Hegel. Examination reveals that Blanchot's thinking is carefully and persistently oriented towards a profound questioning of the terms of Hegel's thought, while nevertheless remaining within its themes. Blanchot's study of Hegel can therefore be shown as both rigorous and increasingly radical in its critique. Equally, it allows for a crucial discussion of the differences between Blanchot's responses to Hegel and those of Jacques Derrida, with the implicit suggestion that in some ways, Blanchot's critique of Hegel is more far-reaching than that developed by Derrida. William S. Allen demonstrates those aspects of Hegelian thought that permeate Blanchot's writings and, in turn, develops a detailed 3-way analysis of Derrida, Hegel, and Blanchot. The key question around which this analysis develops is that of the relation between thought and language concerning finitude and infinitude. Illegibility introduces a new and substantially philosophical account of Blanchot's importance, situating Derrida within a history of discussions of Hegel and enabling a more critical response to Hegel's works."--