Can the Dead Speak to Us? De Man, Levinas and Agamben

Abstract

The worlds of the living and the dead might seem irrevocably cut off from one another. Nevertheless, an important strand of modern thought attempts to find some form of intelligibility emanating from the dead. Paul de Man's discussion of prosopopoeia suggests the possibility of giving voice to the dead, though this turns out to be a form of delusion inherent in language. Emmanuel Levinas, arguing against Heidegger, seeks to maintain a relationship with the other beyond death, and Giorgio Agamben tries to find meaning in the silent testimony of victims of the Holocaust. This article examines these various attempts to mediate with the dead and suggests that it may be impossible to eliminate the risk of imposing our own words on those who cannot speak. However, a readiness to be surprised by unanticipated meanings may be the necessary condition to finding signifying sources outside ourselves.