Derrida and Austin

Contemporary American philosopher, Stanley Cavell, has often returned to Emerson and Wittgenstein in his determination to recover vital links between American and European philosophy. In this collection of his writings, Cavell provides careful and sustained readings of Emerson's "Fate", Derrida's response to J.L. Austin in "Signature Event Context", and Wittgenstein's "Philosophical Investigations". The reading of "Fate" continues Cavell's investigation of Emerson's concept of thinking, which he began in the first chapter of "Conditions Handsome and Unhandsome". The reply to Derrida's remarks on Austin not only places Austin's theory of performative utterances in the context of his other writing but also recalls Austin's importance as a teacher and as an early influence on Cavell. "Notes on the Opening of Wittgenstein's Investigations" provides the opportunity of witnessing Cavell in the act of teaching a philosophical text.