The Play of the Self: The Self as the Gift of Différance

Abstract

This essay dialogues with Hume and Derrida on the possibility of articulating the reality of the self as a dynamism given by the play of différance. Applying Derrida’s conception of the gift to the understanding of the dynamism of the self, the essay will argue that the self is given by the play of infinite generosity and that this givenness is the root of the human desire to realize her existence as an openness to the possibility of the to-come. Human self-realization is an awaiting of the to-come by realizing the play of difference as a response to the call of the eternal giving.

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Keywords

self, play, différance, Derrida, Hume