Deconstruction et justice en langue de systemes : sur quelques lectures derridiennes d’outre-rhin

Abstract

This paper explores the reception of Jacques Derrida’s work among system theoreticians, especially those who gravitate around Niklas Luhmann. Luhmann’s readings of Derrida suggest that he saw in deconstruction a contemporary evolution within the system of society. This evolution brought systemic foundation paradoxes to light in an unprecedented way. In Luhmann’s view, however, Systems Theory should precisely reflect on the possible deparadoxification of the problems presented by Derrida. We argue against the oversimplification that suggests a deconstructive penchant for paradoxes juxtaposed with a system-theoretical inclination to resolve them. The intricacies of this interplay become particularly apparent in the examination of the concept of justice. Through an exploration of Derrida and Luhmann’s writings on the subject, we assert that deconstruction does not neatly align with a formula for transcendence, as suggested by Gunther Teubner. Instead, it manifests as an aporetic state, embodying both the condition of possibility and the condition of impossibility of normative systems.