New geography of theory. France and its partners in the post-secular debate

Abstract

As the main thesis of this article, we claim that the Atlantic circuit of ideas, in which the classical postmodernism took its definite shape, has been replaced by a Mediterranean one. In this new “geography of theory,” France, Italy and Maghreb are the main partners of the post-secular debate. The seminar on Capri in 1994, where Derrida met several Italian thinkers to pose the emergent problem of the “return of the religion” is considered as a symbolic breakthrough in this domain. The participation of the Islamic thinkers has been thence posted as a requirement. Nonetheless, the essential point to be taken into the account is the symptomatic turnover: the Maghrebian thinkers speak the language of the Enlightenment, while the European ones tend to incarnate the “spirit of the Desert.” The scheme identifying “knowledge” with Europe and “faith” with the Maghrebian counterpart is no longer valid. The new circuit of ideas is put into practice on account of the lack of synchronization between the theoretical approaches, which oscillate between “too late” and “too early,” “not yet” and “no more.” The deconstruction of religion is realized through the dismantling of the theology (and of the concept of community based on theological consensus); its place is taken by the individual mystical experience. Due to this process, the metaphor of the “automaton chess player” proposed by Walter Benjamin is no longer valid; breaking the circle of revolution and terror, forming the catastrophic paradigm of the modernity, becomes possible. In ultimate terms, the utmost challenge of the deconstruction epitomized by the “specter of Derrida” is to support yet another translation and to carry out a crucial mediation in the Mediterranean.