The differend and Beyond

Abstract

Having now briefly examined the context of Lyotard’s work prior to the publication of The Differend, this chapter seeks to more thoroughly explore the book’s philosophical findings, particularly his concepts of the phrase, concatenation, the wrong, and most obviously the differend. I shall also investigate and dispute Lyotard’s conception of ‘victimhood’ that underpins the work, finding that his understanding of Silence becomes a needless obstacle for literature to surmount in order to bear witness. I shall then examine Lyotard’s work following The Differend, briefly examining the philosopher’s interest in the inhuman, the sublime, and the capacities of literature to resist closures of thought. However, I will also note the limitations Lyotard ascribes to the literary, most particularly his refusal to permit the differend ‘within’ the narrative form. Finally, I will explain that in Lyotard’s last published work — Soundproof Room — he seems to acknowledge that literature (or at least ‘style’) is able to formally attest to Silence but that he also ascribes such functionality more to the call of ‘stridency’ than he does to the differend, an omission that this book seeks redress.