Reconstructing

centuries. How, though, does the
dialectical enter into our lives as
students, young academics, and young
professionals?
I’ll explore another example. I was
recently at an event with a person in a
position of leadership at the Yale Law
School. As one would expect from
someone in a leadership role at one of
the most prestigious law schools in the
world, this person has been both praised
and criticized for the handling of several
free speech issues. In this context the
discord and polarization that exists in the
United States and around the world was
discussed—especially in the legal field.
In so doing, the speaker demonstrated
the power of the dialectical admonishing
the attendants to never reject the counter
argument. Paraphrasing one of the most
salient points, the speaker said that the
day when we collectively cannot find an
opposing argument will be the day that
discourse and progress dies.
Derrida’s “on the other hand” is not
only a powerful tool, but essential for
moral progress.
This essay began with the question:
how do we know when a tradition that has
been discarded can be useful to solve a modern
problem? As it turns out, the answer to
this question comes to us in the form of
a forgotten tradition: the dialectic. The
dialectic gives us both a powerful tool to
discover which traditions enable us, and
which ones corrupt us. It stabilizes our
dialogue, and gives us the scaffolding
to build empathy with our interlocutors
and, perhaps, if we are lucky, to forgive
the wrongs they make.
The seismic upgrade project that added
the flying buttresses at St. Dominic’s
Church in San Francisco cost 6.6
million dollars. They are constructed on
concrete piers many feet underground.
In reality, the level of engineering and the
construction––in short, the application
of this medieval solution––was adapted
to the common era. The ingenious
solution will serve the church for years
to come. I suggest we see a lesson in the
story of St. Dominic’s to search through
the good customs we have inherited for
those that can buttress us and stabilize us
for years to come.
[1] Hurley, Fr. Michael. “The Feast of the Dedication
of St. Dominic’s Church - Pastor’s Corner.” St.
Dominic’s Catholic Church: Pastor’s corner.
Accessed January 6, 2023. https://stdominics.org/
resources/pastors_corner?id=678.
[2] Derrida Jacques, Like the Sound of the Sea Deep
within a Shell: Paul de Man’s War. Critical Inquiry, Vol.
14, No. 3, The Sociology of Literature (Spring, 1988),
pp. 590-652
[3] Derrida, Jaques: On Cosmopolitanism and
Forgiveness. Routledge London, England (2001)
Reconstructing: Fall 2022