LAWS6023 Study Guide - Final Guide: Jacques Derrida, Legal Fiction, Deductive Reasoning
Document Summary
The purpose of a tragedy is catharsis, or cleansing. We can all relate to tragedy, for it is universal, whereas history is very particular. Sentenced antigone to entombment for her direct contravention of his laws. He (cid:862)ruthlessly lodged a li(cid:448)i(cid:374)g soul (cid:449)ithi(cid:374) the gra(cid:448)e(cid:863) (cid:271)ut (cid:396)efused to (cid:271)u(cid:396)(cid:455) the de(cid:272)eased (cid:271)od(cid:455) of. Polynices and, as such, robbed the gods of a soul that was rightfully theirs. By first enacting such a law, and then punishing the law-breaker in such a way, he was committing two crimes against the natural law of the gods. Indicative of the state as an unyielding body of power-hungry human beings, positing laws for their own benefit and creating a culture which suffocates natural maxims. The law must be followed to the letter, and notions of higher law and justice are void. This is characteristic of society as it existed in feudal times, with the monarch as the highest authority, and those below subservient.
