The CounterText Interview: Jean-Luc Nancy Mimesis: A Singular-Plural Concept

Abstract

Here, in this dialogic supplement to a Homo Mimeticus seminar titled 'HOM Workshop with Jean-Luc Nancy: a partir du 'mythe Nazi', held at KU Leuven in December 2018, Nancy takes the recent return of attention to mimesis, or 'mimetic turn', as a starting point to reflect on the relationship between philosophy and literature. Adopting the mimetic form of a dialogue, Nidesh Lawtoo asks Nancy to take the 'fil conducteur' of mimesis to address his work and life in common with Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, his involvement in the linguistic turn, structuralism, and deconstruction. As the dialogue unfolds, Nancy engages topics at the heart of his philosophical work, such as the subject, community, myth, fascism, and democracy, ending with his reflections on the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharing or partage it generates.