Death of Derrida

On Christian Origins, Peter Kirby notes the death of Jacques Derrida on Friday, aged 74. This is the BBC News story:

Deconstruction icon Derrida dies
Jacques Derrida, one of France's most famous philosophers, has died at the age of 74

Derrida, who suffered from cancer, died in a Paris hospital on Friday night.

The Algerian-born philosopher is best known for his "deconstruction theory" - unpicking the way text is put together in order to reveal its hidden meanings.

Fellow academics have charged that Derrida's writings are "absurd", but his mark on modern thinking is undisputed, correspondents say.

In his long career, he taught at the Sorbonne and at several American universities.

Jacques Derrida could claim to be one of the few philosophers of the late 20th Century who people other than students of the subject had actually heard of, says Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield.

In retrospect, I rather regret preferring the steakhouse to Derrida when he spoke at the SBL Annual Meeting the year before last, on a Saturday night. How fickle I am!

Here's The Guardian's version of the story:

Philosopher Jacques Derrida Dies at 74
Elaine Ganley