Existentialism v.s Post Structuralism. Friend or Foe?
Recently, I found myself engaged in a drunken disagreement; the topic: Existentialism and Post Structuralism/Determinism.
Now let me first clarify—we were nice and drunk, and neither person was very good at expressing himself (Personally I found that drunken struggle to convey meaning almost comically exaggerating the very argument at the heart of Post Structuralism). However, an almost unsettling inability to convince my partner in this discussion somehow led to me feel unconvinced in my own understanding of the subject matter.
It would probably be helpful to mention that my friend is both a philosophy major and a straight up militant anarchist. I think it is the latter attribute that gave him superior conviction, but at the same time, looking back on it, it makes it easier to write off his opinion. However, for a moment, lets consider something he pointed out as if it were true.
While the anarchist shot down Derrida, guffawed at Foucault, and wouldn’t even even consider Sartre a name worth knowing, it wasn’t his equal disdain for Post Structuralism or Existentialism that was disturbing. It was that he couldn’t possibly fathom how the two might be in cahoots. This is actually something I keep reading and hearing: Existentialism and Post Structuralism can NOT co-exist; somehow one negates the other.
however there is a paradoxical nature to this relationship, and I only notice it in the details.
More later tho, too tired to keep writing.
