Displacements in the concept of signature in Derrida and Agamben

Abstract

This article deals with the concept of signature as it is understood in Derrida and Agamben. In this context, an attempt is made to answer what are the internal displacements that the concept of signature has in both. The starting point of the two philosophers is the criticism of the traditional understanding of the concept of sign and the arrival point is to propose an alternative for a new understanding. Agamben will converge to a philosophical archeology, inspired by Foucault. Derrida will elaborate a complex conception of “writing” that marks a “non-presence” that will manifest itself under the concept of signature, avoiding the fixation of the relationship between meaning and signifier through an incessant différance. The answer points to a different way of valuing the signature: in Agamben the signature determines the episteme and, for Derrida, the complex concept of writing assumes more importance, because in it resides what will become a signature.

Key-Words: Agamben; Derrida; signature; episteme; philosophical archaeology.