Explores Derrida's main books and essays and considers his central themes to provide a comprehensive picture of his work

Explains the theory of deconstruction and refutes the claims that it is negative and destructive

Defends Derrida against some of the attacks from the analytical philosophical community whilst explaining why it is that his work inspires such passionate criticism

Seeks to give the newcomer a sense of Derrida's challenge to the philosophical tradition, combined with some understanding of the range of reactions that challenge has provoked

Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series - over three million copies sold worldwide

Jacques Derrida, the French philosopher, developed his critical technique known as 'deconstruction'. His work is associated with ideas surrounding both post-structuralism and post-modern philosophy, and he was known to have challenged some of the unquestioned assumptions of our philosophical tradition.