"Being is spuked by time." Being is disjointed by time, restless in time. The call comes from temporality... We are always called upon to deconstruct. The unconditional insists, calls (in the middle voice), solicits, etc. to deconstruct. The call comes from the homeless and hungry, recalling the Crucified. Justice calls without why. Love loves without why. Thus Jack concludes the lecture. These are some of key phrases that I am able to capture in my listening and typing of his lecture that last only slightly over an hour. The following discussion with the respondent (at Union, his name slips me) is also very illuminating to Jack's thought. Cornell West also joins in the discussion. It is good to hear my old teacher -- old in the sense of his long legacy and impact on my mind, as well as on the minds of many American intellectual. His summary, articulation, clarification (in a nutshell) of deconstruction is very helpful to understand Derrida and Jack's own "radical theology." Having done so, he attempts to deconstruct Tillich--all too briefly. I wonder, however, if deconstruction or doing deconstruction is proper without the concrete text, symbols, system of culture or philosophy that one deconstructs. Jack's more concrete work on Tillich's text is wanting in his lecture. This is not fair to expect out of a lecture, I realize. But, in the same vein, I wonder if anyone other than Derrida can deconstruct, just like if anyone other than Heidegger can "think." Cornell West challenges Jack to work with Christian tradition of love to draw out the unconditional. Jack agrees but insists on the "folly" or the little bit of madness that is involved in doing so, as he says he sees in the New Testament language. It will be wonderful to see Jack deconstruct some biblical texts. When he talks about the oncology nurses having to talk to the parents of children with terminal illness, he sounds very Levinasian. This should not be a surprise. Because Derrida has borrowed so much from Levinas (knowingly and admittedly); and because from Derrida Jack draws much of his material.
