Unlike other anthologies in continental thought, this book focuses on a specific issue--the theory of difference--as the most effective way to generate interest and understanding not only of the specific issue in question, but also of the deeper philosophical connections which constitute the historical fabric of a tradition. Presented here are key texts--some of which were previously out of print--from Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, and Luce Irigaray, that have been selected to highlight each thinker's understanding of difference, as well as suggesting its implications for a range of issues as ostensibly diverse as the question of Being, the meaning of justice, the problem of translation, the status of theological language, sexual difference, and the nature of the postmodern.

Douglas L. Donkel teaches philosophy at The University of Portland. He is the author of The Understanding of Difference in Heidegger and Derrida.