Memoirs of the Blind, which encompasses Derrida's profound thought and impressive visualization of blindness, eyes/tears and faith, depicts his self-portrait of deconstruction through the language of confession and love. For Derrida, the "proper" I/self of deconstruction can only be expressed as an event in the act of writing or painting the moment that I encounter the alterity of the Other which "exists before I am" and cannot be assimilated into my own frame. In this context, ruins, the trace of différance which embodies the alterity traversing the self, becomes the core of his self-portrait and autobiography in the sense of deconstruction. By commenting on several visual arts of the blind in Louvre Museum, Derrida attempts to theorize his thought concerning blindness that is grounded in the question of ruins and self-portrait. Blindness here does not refer to an infirmity or impotence, but to a transcendental condition of tears welling up in him in the encounter with the incoming of the Other. Based on the experience of blindness, Derrida provides a new mode of eyes shedding tears in which one, with hospitality, can truly welcome the incoming of the Other as a gift. Drawing on Andrew Marvell's beautiful phrases “tears that see and eyes that shed tears,” Derrida embodies the (in)visible images of the eyes and the tears of deconstruction, in which seeing and tears complete each other by supplementing the rupture of the other. Indeed, Memoirs of the Blind can be called “Derrida's own self-portrait,” an expression of his passionate faith for the eyes of deconstruction, which is gracefully expressed in the form of impressive visual images and incisive critical thinking. The important point here is that Derridean faith, grounded in his masterful blending of the passion of religious thinking with the logic of “perhaps,” is strongly informed by the ethics of opening and affirmation, as opposed to the bigoted faith of religious and political dogma. It is only through these newly-born eyes and the open faith that deconstruction can become the creative principle of concrete and diverse ethical and aesthetical practices.

Memoirs of the Blind, which encompasses Derrida's profound thought and impressive visualization of blindness, eyes/tears and faith, depicts his self-portrait of deconstruction through the language of confession and love. For Derrida, the "proper" I/self of deconstruction can only be expressed as an event in the act of writing or painting the moment that I encounter the alterity of the Other which "exists before I am" and cannot be assimilated into my own frame. In this context, ruins, the trace of différance which embodies the alterity traversing the self, becomes the core of his self-portrait and autobiography in the sense of deconstruction. By commenting on several visual arts of the blind in Louvre Museum, Derrida attempts to theorize his thought concerning blindness that is grounded in the question of ruins and self-portrait. Blindness here does not refer to an infirmity or impotence, but to a transcendental condition of tears welling up in him in the encounter with the incoming of the Other. Based on the experience of blindness, Derrida provides a new mode of eyes shedding tears in which one, with hospitality, can truly welcome the incoming of the Other as a gift. Drawing on Andrew Marvell's beautiful phrases “tears that see and eyes that shed tears,” Derrida embodies the (in)visible images of the eyes and the tears of deconstruction, in which seeing and tears complete each other by supplementing the rupture of the other. Indeed, Memoirs of the Blind can be called “Derrida's own self-portrait,” an expression of his passionate faith for the eyes of deconstruction, which is gracefully expressed in the form of impressive visual images and incisive critical thinking. The important point here is that Derridean faith, grounded in his masterful blending of the passion of religious thinking with the logic of “perhaps,” is strongly informed by the ethics of opening and affirmation, as opposed to the bigoted faith of religious and political dogma. It is only through these newly-born eyes and the open faith that deconstruction can become the creative principle of concrete and diverse ethical and aesthetical practices.

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Derrida. deconstruction, eyes, Memoirs of the Blind, self-portrait, ruins, blindness, seeing/tears, faith