The Event of the Thing

'The Event of the Thing is a rigorous, innovative exposition of Derrida's concept of the thing, which permeates his work. With reference to Derrida's published and unpublished writings, Michael Marder accomplishes a thoughtful and exciting consideration of what is a major thread in Derrida's corpus. Marder's excellent scholarship is of singular importance.' -- John Leavey, Department of English, University of Florida 'The Event of the Thing is an original and important work that demonstrates for the first time how Derrida radically rethinks the tradition of the thing in philosophy, psychoanalysis, and aesthetics.' -- Sean Gaston, Department of English, Brunel University 'Michael Marder's book is an example of what philosophy should be in the twenty-first century. Similar to Tugendhat's analysis of the Heideggerian concept of truth, Rorty's endorsement of Dewey's politics, or Vattimo's interpretation of the Nietzschean Overman, Marder has produced a singular reading of Derrida's notion of the "thing" and paved the way towards a highly original post-deconstructive realism.' -- Santiago Zabala, ICREA Research Professor, University of Barcelona

The Event of the Thing is the most complete examination to date of Derrida's understanding of thinghood and its crucial role in psychoanalysis, ethics, literary theory, aesthetics, and Marxism.

Jacques Derrida's writings often embed the key themes of deconstruction in a notion of the thing. The Event of the Thing is the most complete examination to date of Derrida's understanding of thinghood and its crucial role in psychoanalysis, ethics, literary theory, aesthetics, and Marxism.

Arguing that the thing, as a figure of otherness, destabilizes the metaphysical edifice it underlies, Michael Marder reveals the contributions it makes to critiques of humanism and idealism. Subsequently, the new realism that emerges from deconstruction holds the possibility of an event that problematizes all attempts to objectify the thing. An illuminating analysis of Derrida and phenomenology, The Event of the Thing is an innovative and compelling study of a crucial aspect of one of the twentieth century's greatest thinkers.