Jacques Derrida: The Last Interview (Learning To Live Finally)

With death looming, Jacques Derrida, the world’s most famous philosopher — known as the father of ”deconstruction” — sat down with journalist Jean Birnbaum of the French daily Le Monde. They revisited his life’s work and his impending death in a long, surprisingly accessible, and moving final interview. Sometimes called “obscure” and branded “abstruse” by his critics, the Derrida found in this book is open and engaging, reflecting on a long career challenging important tenets of European philosophy from Plato to Marx.

The contemporary meaning of Derrida’s work is also examined, including a discussion of his many political activities. But, as Derrida says, “To philosophize is to learn to die”; as such, this philosophical discussion turns to the realities of his imminent death — including life with a fatal cancer. In the end, this interview remains a touching final look at a long and distinguished career.

"No thinker in the last 100 years had a greater impact than he did on people in more fields and different disciplines... No thinker has been more deeply misunderstood.”   —  Mark C. Taylor, The New York Times

The Last Interview Series: Melville House has been publishing a popular series of books called The Last Interview and Other Conversations which celebrates the heroes and innovators of art, politics and literature with a collection of interviews and conversations that span their creative lives.