Jennifer Wagner-Lawlor.pdf

The concept of the horizon is explored in relation to totality, infinity, and the pursuit of knowledge, drawing on the ideas of Louis Marin, Jacques Derrida, and Martin Heidegger. The horizon is seen as a boundary that marks the difference between the known and the unknown, proximity and distance, and is characterized by its ability to direct us forward while remaining elusive and undefined. Derrida's reading of Heidegger highlights the self-reflexive nature of the pursuit of knowledge, which creates a hall of mirrors that recedes ever backward, and argues that a radical displacement or rupture is needed to challenge the privilege of the "exemplary proper man." The horizon is understood as a space that marks the opposition of the near and the far, and is approached through the concept of différance, which introduces an aoristic moment of proximity and distance. The imperative is to keep the system open, rather than closed, and to anticipate the unknown, rather than repeating what is implicit in founding concepts.