A professor of aesthetic philosophy, but also a poet, translator, and playwright, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe contributed in wide-ranging ways to the French intellectual scene of the late 20th century. He was a dedicated comparatist, whose work in the post-phenomenological tradition explored different modes of thought, rather than privileging any single discourse. He described the position from which he thought and wrote as follows:
To deconstruct [...] is not [...], from the outside, using another language, knocking down the building in order to build something new: we no longer have, no-one any longer has, either exteriority or any other language [...]. Therefore we must inhabit the building, as there is nowhere else to live. But we must inhabit the building in order — a little like
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Citation: John, McKeane. "Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 December 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13872, accessed 31 October 2024.]
