Thinking With... A Rhetorical Theory Podcast

In this ep, we discuss Derrida's "White Mythology."  Some themes and talking points:  - metaphor as an organizing principle of philosophy - how to ground or "unground" a philosophical system - catachresis vs metaphor - Hegel vs Derrida  - Heidegger's nostalgia 

In this special episode, Dr. Brooke Rollins, an Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University, joins the Thinking With crew to discuss Derrida's "Nietzsche and the Machine" interview, as well as Brooke's research in risk, gambling, analytics (in sports and in life), and rhetorical theory.

In this ep, we talk through Derrida's essay, "From Restricted to General Economy: A Hegelianism Without Reserve." Much of this episode is dedicated to teasing the orientational differences between Hegel and Derrida, as well as the difficulties and affordances, generally, of the post-Hegelian project. 

In this episode, we discuss Derrida's essay, "Structure, Sign, and Play."  Topics covered include:  - the relationship between ethnocentrism and metaphysics - our culpability in metaphysical structures of engagement - Derrida’s version of rigor in critical theory - Derrida’s treatment of Levi Strauss - the limits of deconstruction - the bricoleur vs engineer - the relation between contingency and universality

In this episode, we talk through Derrida's "Signature Event Context," which is primarily a reading and extension of J.L. Austin's How to Do Things with Words. Our conversation covers, among other things, Derrida's notion of iterability, Austin's concepts of performativity and illocutionary force, the Searle vs. Derrida exchange, and the desire for truth and certainty in philosophy. 

First ep of 2023! We took a lil break for the holidays. In this ep, we're talking about Derrida's "Plato's Pharmacy" again, among other things. Good episode -- no effort in the episode description.

In this episode, Nathaniel, John, and Nate talk through the first half of Derrida's "Plato's Pharmacy." 

In this episode, we talk through the first 25 pages of Derrida's Of Grammatology:  - the primacy of writing  - embeddedness of metaphysics  - who needs Saussure anymore?  - signifiers, signifieds, and signifier/signifieds  - writing instruction as constitutively theological

We cover a lot of ground in this episode, but not a lot of this ground is tied directly to Derrida. In the beginning of the episode, we talk about the dynamics of appropriation, math, physics, the terminology of becoming, and Heraclitus. Towards the middle and end, we discuss the brevity of history, how Hollywood must save us, and the genius of the Matrix. 

Thinking With... is back! This season, we cover a variety of Derrida's texts, including "Différance," Of Grammatology, "Plato's Pharmacy," "Signature Event Context," "From General to Restricted Economy," "Nietzsche and the Machine," and "White Mythology."  In this episode, we do a short intro where we discuss the details of this season as well as the new intro music.  In the episode, proper, we discuss Derrida's "Différance," the various components of Derrida's central (non)concept, the differences between Heidegger and Derrida, the dynamics of contemporary theory, among other things.