Derrida's "aporia of responsibility" in José Rizal's El Filibusterismo. Issue 3 (1st October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Claudio, Lisandro E.
• Is Part Of: Explicator. Volume 78:Issue 3/4(2020)
• Page Start: 119
• Page End: 123
• Publication Date: 2020-10-01
• Subjects: Nineteenth century Spanish -- Nineteenth century Asian -- evolution -- ain -- uffering; English literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; American literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 820.5
• DOI: 10.1080/00144940.2020.1724855
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0014-4940

Abstract

Abstract: This article examines themes of revolution, responsibility, and colonial suffering in José Rizal's El Filibusterismo . The second and more confounding of Rizal's two novels, El Filibusterismo is vague about the conditions necessary for anti-colonial revolution. The article argues that this vagueness was deliberate and that it constituted an invitation to a collective reflection on revolutionary responsibility. Using Derrida's concept of the "aporia of responsibility, " it shows that Rizal's novel negotiates the tension between individual accountability and collective action. In conjuring a collective impasse, Rizal left a space for the democratic nationalism that he envisioned for the Philippines.