CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

The stranger is infinitely incalculable, priceless and irreducible because to savor the trace of every stranger is a singular and irreplaceable experience. We want to know; we want to understand our experience. We cannot fully understand, yet we must understand our stranger we have to learn to live and deal with our strangers.1

A. Background of the Study This thesis is all about Jacques Derridas deconstruction on the theme Hospitality or unconditional welcoming which is inextricably linked to his notion about the stranger. Specifically, this philosophical inquiry is a proposed attempt to possibly re-interpret the concept of Stranger vis--vis Hospitality as a reconfiguration of Derridas Guest-Host framework towards a Metaphysic of the Self to explore the possibility of showing that Kenotic Hospitality could be the enhanced notion of unconditional welcoming and that the experience of Perfect Joy as its logical consequence. The researcher here was primarily inspired by the Franciscan understanding of kenosis and perfect joy because no systematic study has yet been done dealing with the two concepts together as a subject of philosophical inquiry. One of Derridas principles in deconstruction states that nothing is outside the text. This is the basis why the researcher has attempted to reinterpret Derridas notion about the stranger in relation to the hospitality. Even Derrida is not exempted from his own deconstruction. To reinterpret is to deconstruct or to search the other meaning of this Derridean concept. The researcher observes that responsibility is not credible enough to justify Derridas praxis of unconditional welcoming. That is why the researcher assumes that there is a need to look for that missing link or that pre-condition or that kind of motivating force (desire) that will satisfy the requirements of rationality that will also make the practice of unconditional welcoming persuasive, convincing and desirable. But in order to achieve that enhanced understanding of
1

Paraphrased from: Mark Ziomislic, Derridas turn to Franciscans Philosophy. Internet (December 2008.pdf): http://www.kritike.org/journal/issue 4/zlomislic

unconditional welcoming, the researcher proposes a Metaphysics of the Self where the Subject must first go back to itself in order to confront the stranger within. Under this proposal, the Self as the Host negotiates with his own Stranger Within as its Guest in order to understand not only (1) the kind of justice it requires, but also in order to find out (2) what would make men willingly practice the kind of hospitality being preached by Derrida, which would hopefully allow the Subject to find the path that would possibly lead to an enhanced understanding of unconditional welcoming as Kenotic Hospitality which brings about perfect joy. This thesis privileges freedom and perfect joy over responsibility, in the light of what is in the nature of the human soul or in the very nature of the human specie (human factor). To understand what motivates men, the researcher offers Kardia as an integral component under the Metaphysics of the Self, not only to justify how desire is processed within ones consciousness but also to offer a new way of understanding the relationship between mind, will and emotion (this is in contrast to the over-compartmentalized surgical treatment by Aristotle). A creature of deconstruction from the Hebraic tradition, the researcher proposes that Kardia represent the essence, the spirit, the substance, the very core of ones being: the central processing network of the mind-will-emotion; the heart of the matter, and could also be the what is of the true inner identity. The Metaphysics thus aims to highlight, through the Kardia, the intertwined functions of the mind, the will, and the emotion that is availed by the Subject to demonstrate coordination and harmony within the cognitive framework (human capacity for cognitive integration and synthesis). To find this missing link that motivates men, the researcher further suggests, as part of the Selfs metaphysical experience (self-deconstruction), the conduct of a selective survey on eudaimonia as the telos. Thus, the quest for what is desirable on the Wings of Kardia

(consciousness) leads the researcher to a perusal of happiness from different Eastern and Western traditions (the process of mediation). After this brief survey, the researcher will attempt to conceive a notion of perfect joy that would not only be unmistakably Franciscan but also containing the rich influence from selected Oriental philosophies. Here, the researcher suggests that the philosophical insights gained be processed and synthesized through an eclectic method which privileges the human potentials that would allow the subject-Self to confront the reality of pain, suffering, and death under a Philosophy of Growth in response to the fundamental question. The proposed philosophy of growth describes The Path of Perfect Joy as a way of life and as the road to maturity based on an ethics of sacrifice based on love which embraces an attitude of (1) openness to life (towards possibilities) together with (2) a dual kenotic approach towards life, in response to the fundamental question. This philosophical inquiry hopes to demonstrate that an enduring love that is found in the proposed ethics of sacrifice could possibly be the motivating force that could transform Derridas hospitality into a kenotic form of unconditional welcoming. The notion of self-sacrifice positively finds rational support as a form of self-pruning (self-dismantling/deconstruction). The researcher also offers the philosophy of growth as a response to life in order to understand what matters most in life (the fundamental question). Knowing what matters most in life is what makes life worth living and dying for; and therefore it is about knowing where an enduring happiness can be found in life (telos). Kenotic Hospitality as the product of a mature perspective could possibly provide meaning and dignity to human existence. Thus, to know what matters most in life is also to know how to rationally respond to the stranger. As a whole, the researcher will thus try to show that Derridas unconditional welcoming can be understood with sense and credibility only as a kenotic expression inscribed in a

philosophy of growth that prescribes the Way of Perfect Joy as an ethics of sacrifice based on love. The researcher therefore hopes to contribute something of significance in fields of philosophy and franciscanism, specifically, (1) in the attempt to deconstruct Derridas unconditional welcoming as Kenotic Hospitality qua The Way of Perfect Joy, and (2) in the reconfiguration of the Guest-Host framework into an epistemic Metaphysics of the Self towards Self-enlargement (consciousness). Moreover, this work is personally significant for the researcher because of the unique opportunity to share a philosophy of growth in response to the fundamental question what matters most in life. Finally, the researcher chose Derrida because his deconstruction provides the needed intellectual autonomy in the conduct of inquiries which opens new space for creative possibilities. For this researcher deconstruction is also (1) a very potent tool to combat perceived errors and (2) a very effective medium to creatively explore uncharted possibilities, and eventually, (3) as a demanding critical technique to re-think and discover rational possibilities towards the truth thus an opportunity to try out Derridas playing field and enter a subjective field of tensions and, from all these contradictions, make a choice of justice for the stranger. B. Statement of the Problem
A philosophical inquiry into the politics of stranger could lead to a point of undecidability which breaks away from the traditional logic of identity. An encounter with Derridas notion of hospitality vis--vis stranger leaves a trace that creates a dilemma and disturbs the status quo. To re-interpret is to awaken and resurrect the question on the truth about the stranger and about the praxis of unconditional welcoming.

In trying to understand Derridas unconditional welcoming, the researcher observes, among others, that this praxis of hospitality cannot simply be understood in terms of responsibility. There must be something more than responsibility to propel us to give gratuitously because no person in his right senses would unconditionally welcome a stranger even at the least expected and most inconvenient time unless there is an inner driving force that

motivates the host to open his doors and accommodate the stranger, otherwise it is not anymore freely done (volitional). His notion about responsibility is not enough to persuade and convince rational beings to freely adopt and practice this unconditional hospitality even in the political arena. Why should I wake up in the middle of the night just to accommodate a complete stranger who could be a potential criminal? What is the sense of taking these risks? Why has it become my responsibility? It is not realistic, credible, or convincing. Moreover, responsibility is a restraint on freedom; and this sense of duty is not fool-proof and could be compromised. (Example: when the Nazi soldier is compelled, out of this high sense of duty and responsibility, to put the helpless Jews into the gas chamber and die). The researcher entertains the possibility that this notion of unconditional welcoming is incomplete and unsatisfactory because hospitality is inextricably connected to a kenotic element as the best possible motivating force that might possibly enhance its ethical ground; hence, this thesis. For this purpose, the researcher will try to explore, develop, and articulate these concerns guided by the following set of questions: 1. Who is Jacques Derrida and what is his method of deconstruction? 2. What is the original position of Derridas interpretation of Stranger vis--vis Hospitality? 3. How will the researcher re-interpret the Stranger vis--vis Hospitality in order to arrive at an enhanced Derridean notion of unconditional welcoming so that it could eventually be understood as kenotic hospitality that leads to perfect joy? 4. What are the philosophical significance and the practical implications which can be derived from this new understanding? C. Theoretical Framework The researcher will avail of the postmodern reality-frame of Jacques Derrida, using the deconstructive method. The researcher has chosen Derridas deconstructive analysis because it provides this researcher the needed intellectual autonomy which opens new space for creative possibilities that should eventually result to a critical re-working of every oeuvre of philosophy. Moreover, deconstruction releases us from the ossification of thought involved in thinking that a

favored conceptual scheme is privileged over others.2 Deconstruction is thus best suited in investigations where traditional or common ways of thinking as an attitude are questioned in order to introduce new forms of consciousness and rationalities by exposing the manifold problematic tensions that may emerge through an examination of various contexts (including oriental philosophy, mythology, English literature, politics, religion, Franciscan spirituality, ethics, behavioral science, psychology, tourism, etc). Derridas perspective about the stranger and hospitality are not immune to permutations. The radical singularity of every encounter with the stranger gives birth to new forms of rationality and consciousness about life which could be an affirmation or threat to the status quo. For this project, the researcher relies on Derridas deconstructive principle: Nothing is Outside the Text. Using Derridas deconstructive method, the researcher will try to reconfigure Derridas original Host-Guest framework in order to re-invent an enhanced understanding of Derridas unconditional welcoming. To do this, the researcher proposes a Metaphysics of the Self where the Subject must first go back to itself in order to confront the stranger within. The Metaphysics of the Self would thus serve as the framework that would provide the Self the creative space and freedom (1) to present an alternative epistemological method (kardial consciousness) that would signal the start of a logical self-dismantling or self-deconstruction process and (2) to construct a humanist philosophy of growth as the synthesis of an east-west survey, that will eventually propose the dual self-emptying subjectivity of kenotic hospitality as the enhanced notion of unconditional welcoming that brings about perfect joy. The Way of Perfect Joy is the suggested name of the philosophy of growth which describes kenotic hospitality as a way of life (the marriage of western and oriental traditions). As a proposed humanist philosophy, The Way of Perfect Joy embraces both an ethics of the self
2

Thomas Mautner (ed.), The Penguin Dictionary of Philosophy, Penguin Group, England, 2005, p.150.

and an ethics of alterity that comes under a broader ethics of sacrifice based on a nonexclusionary/all embracing love subject to all. In order to save on time and space, the researcher suggests that each topic found under Chapter III & IV (the conceptual background and the theoretical basis & framework) would only be given their concise treatment discussing only what are considered the essentials that would be necessary for the critical journey towards the path of perfect joy. Every step in Chapter V, VI & VII (the three-part analysis) would become a step of deconstruction and demonstrates the growth and progress in the Selfs consciousness towards its goal. In the process, the researcher will propose two innovative concepts: (1) Kardia (consciousness: mind-will-emotion) in Chapter IV (epistemological), and Self-Pruning to justify the positive reception by the Subject towards self-sacrifice in the praxis of kenosis as an ethical conduct in Chapter VII (psychological). In this Metaphysics of Self, the researcher proposes several steps beginning with Platos recommendations (know yourself and take care of ones self) as the philosophical basis that will not only justify the Selfs introspection-projection (centripetal-centrifugal) but also encourage and propel the Self to continue with the quest to understand the various Easterm and Western notions of happiness as the telos in the quest for perfect joy. The East-West survey will become the groundwork for a philosophy of growth which, in turn, conceives the path of perfect joy (eudaimonia) as a dual kenotic way of life. In response to the fundamental question, the philosophy of growth (as a way of becoming) privileges whatever is in the very nature of the human soul (the human factor which is oftentimes intentionally disregarded or forgotten) including the desire and capacity to love (the self and others) and be loved in return. It is also seeks to confront the realities of pain, suffering and death. The end result of this philosophical attempt will supposedly allow the researcher to demonstrate that a rationally desirable notion of

unconditional hospitality is possible when it is viewed from a kenotic perspective (kenotic subjectivity); in other words, a neutral3 concept of Kenotic Hospitality as an ethics of sacrifice based on love4 that brings about perfect joy. The researcher further claims that such kenotic feature is not only compatible with Derridas notions of unconditionality, but also with the Franciscan praxis and understanding of kenosis and perfect joy. D. Methodology The researcher will use the expository and analytic method. In the attempt, the researcher appropriates, as his materials for deconstruction, selected concepts and principles which may be relevant in the development of this thesis from various Western and Eastern philosophers including useful Greek mythologies. The research materials will consist of books, pamphlets, journals, articles and other forms of publications some of which came from the OLAS library and the Rizal library at Ateneo De Manila, Q.C., while some significant data are taken from the electronic sources. The researcher will also consult thoroughly on the account of the said topic. The reader will observe all throughout the thesis that some of the words and phrases had been italicized. This is done in order to highlight the idea being emphasized by this student. E. Scope and Limitation This thesis, which is primarily a re-interpretation of Derridas stranger vis--vis unconditional welcoming, deals with the problem of the Self who tries to understand the stranger within so that the Self would, in turn, understand the truth about the stranger and the kind of justice required under Derridas unconditional hospitality. To understand the rational basis for hospitality, the researcher also brings into the fore the Franciscan notion of kenosis which is offered as a possible ethical ground in lieu of responsibility that would lead to the experience of perfect joy. This research is thus not only limited to the re-interpretation of
3 4

Allows both secular and religious reading/interpretation of kenotic hospitality (two-way interpretation). Instead of Derridas grounding on friendship-fraternity alone.

Derridas Stranger, but also introduces a philosophy of growth as the synthesized product of the East-West survey in quest for the eudaimonia under a Metaphysics of the Self which eventually leads to kenosis that brings about perfect joy. The bulk of materials culled for purposes of deconstruction were not always Derridean. The researcher also appropriates various literatures in aid of deconstruction. Aside from Derridean sources, the researchers quest for the truth about the Stranger will be supported by the great thoughts of selected Western and Eastern philosophers, while the building blocks to re-conceptualize The Way of Perfect Joy will come not only from Franciscan sources but also from those which could be excavated from other Western and Eastern thoughts. F. Related Literature 1. Mark Ziomislic, Derridas Turn To Franciscan Philosophy. http://www.kritike.org/journal/issue4/zlomislic December 2008.pdf Derrida was exposed to Franciscan thoughts (Francis perception of the self) through the poem of Hopkins. The appreciation of the self is taste that whatever the taste is. It is how the self interprets self-experience. We cannot capture what is the Self-Taste as the experience of the self because only the self can interpret what is the self-experience. This is because the self is incalculable, irreducible, and priceless. As a corollary, there is no neutral interpretation as far as philosophy is concerned; all is interpretation, and interpretation is the way the self interprets in response to the world. All in all, Self-Taste is self interpretation of ones experience.

2. Hope May, On Socrates, Wadsworth Philosophers Series (Wadsworth Thompson Learning, Inc.) USA, 2000. This book will be a helpful guide to this research to formulate the method of going back to the self as far as Socratic elenchus is concerned and the value of his thoughts in terms of self-

knowledge, morality, and human happiness. Socrates believed that if human beings could just get a glimpse of who they really are, then they could mitigate human suffering significantly. This book is most enlightening in an age of moral relativism, where many human beings believe that moral truth is in the eye of the beholder and that everyone is right and no one is wrong. This book offers an alternative that the truth is not somewhere out there, but that it is in you, and that to know it, one only needs to lead an examined life. 3. Haecceity in Duns Scotus, in Medieval Theories of Haecceity (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). http://www.plato.stanford.edu/entries/medieval-haecceity/ Haecceity is a concept created by Duns Scotus from the word haec, "this thing." According to Duns Scotus "Omne ens habet aliquod esse proprium" -- every entity has a singular essence. Agamben describes Duns Scotus as responding to the scholastic's problem of the principium individuationis. Against St. Thomas, who sought the place of individuation in matter, Duns Scotus conceived individuation as an addition to nature or common form, but not the addition of another form, essence or property, but of the ultima realitas, the "utmostness" of the form itself. According also to the logic of individuation, the universal cannot be concretely experienced and conceived because only the concrete individual or thing exists. From this concrete individual, only then can one capture the universal essence through images and representations (Redoblado, Freedom Unmasked, 218-219). This Scotusian view sees each thing as highly individualized and different from all other things so much so that each object is to him almost separate species. The concept of this-ness or haceeity is that aura of irreplaceability which distinguishes this being or entity from the rest. What is unusual or distinct about this being or entity becomes a useful guide for discernment during the uncovering or bursting forth of the truth about their being.5

Cabintoy, Being Brother-Brother-Being, Unpublished Thesis, OLAS, Quezon City, SY-2010-2011, pp. 73, 121.

4. Maria J. Binetti, Kierkegaard's Ethical Stage in Hegel's Logical Categories: Actual Possibility, Reality and Necessity, in Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, Vol 3, No 2-3 (2007), pdf.6 The internal logic of Kierkegaards thought coincides with the fundamental dialectical dynamism of Hegels philosophy. During the past decades, the history of philosophy has kept Kierkegaards and Hegels thought apart, and their long-standing opposition has swept through the speculative greatness of Kierkegaardian existentialism and the existential power of Hegelian philosophy. In contrast to such unfortunate misinterpretation, this article aims at showing the deep convergence that relates interiorly the Kierkegaardian ethical stage with the most important Hegelian logic categories. Kierkegaard and Hegel conceive of the idea as the real power of subjective becoming, and the existence as the actual concretion of the ideal. To both of them, the pure enrgeia of freedom, which starts in the abstract and aesthetical possibility of the subjective immediacy, realizes itself as the actual concretion of finitude, assuming time and contingency by the eternal and necessary force of duty. The Kierkegaardian repetition is nothing but this powerful idea, mediating the flux of finite differences in the eternal identity of subject. However, for Kierkegaard as well as for Hegel there is an absolute contradiction, which promotes the overcoming of ethics. G. Thesis Schema Chapter I is the over-all plan which provides general information on the nature, purpose, form, content and main divisions of the discussions found in this thesis. Chapter II will provide a concise presentation of the Derridas life, works, and philosophy. Chapters III and IV provide the theoretical background and premise of this thesis. Chapter III will be an exposition of the general notion, and Derridas original position on hospitality. Chapter IV is the conceptual basis and framework of this thesis which will briefly explain Derridas primary principle in deconstruction
6

Could also be accessed through Internet: http://www.cosmosandhistory.org/index.php/journal/article/view/83/166

together with the presentation of the proposed Metaphysic of the Self that highlights the Kardia. The analysis is divided into three (3) chapters (Chapters V, VI and VII) which are essentially proposals in deconstruction. Chapter V will be the initial attempt to deconstruct perfect joy as an object of the Subjects consciousness under the proposed Metaphysics of the Self. The researcher will also try to present a brief survey and to trace the originary philosophical concept of happiness including its paradoxes in life. Chapter VI comes in the form of synthesis of eastern and western thoughts which contains a proposed philosophy of growth describing the path of Perfect Joy as a Way of Life. Chapter VII is the attempt to provide an enhanced notion of unconditional welcoming and to justify Kenotic Hospitality as the best secular expression of a non-exclusionary all-embracing alterity subject to all. This chapter also traces the etymology of the word kenosis including their radical religious and philosophical applications by Lucien Richard, Jacques Derrida and Gianni Vattimo. In the process, a non-religious ethical notion of sacrifice based on love is cultivated in this research to become the cornerstone of a kenotic perspective. The term pruning is also introduced to justify the positive reception by the mature kenotic Subject of the notion and praxis of sacrifice even unto death. A synopsis is added to highlight researchers evaluation on the supposed merits of Kenotic Hospitality. Chapter VIII is the summary and conclusion which will try to bring out the philosophical significance of the researchers findings.