Carls, Paul: Deconstruction as a Moral Fact: Durkheim versus Derrida on Structure, Authority, and Democracy

Durkheimian Studies 28:3-32. 2024Both Durkheim and Derrida think through the ‘structurality of structure’, or the arbitrary and empty nature of a central, onto-theological/ metaphysical authority. In response, Derrida articulates a deconstructive ethics and politics that remains continuously open to the infinite alterity of the other and that subverts metaphysical thought. Durkheim, however, concludes that structure is an inherent feature of social life. He argues that all moral systems necess