The Possibility of Being Another Philosopher: Andrew Benjamin on Walter Benjamin

For more than three decades Andrew Benjamin has been one of the most distinguished interpreters of the work of Walter Benjamin, writing and editing a great number of works which have become standard references. This article focuses on his 2013 more original book, Working with Walter Benjamin, as paradigmatic of his readings of Walter Benjamin. This text, in fact, unveils some precise features of Andrew Benjamin’s perspective when reading Walter Benjamin, such as a particular emphasis on the notion of ‘destruction’ and a very peculiar critique of the law which does not aim at ‘de-posing’ it but rather at preserving it by aligning it with justice. This particular point brings Andrew Benjamin at the very limit of the scope of a ‘Benjaminian’ political philosophy, leaving the comfort zone of interpretation and venturing into the open field of proper speculation.