In order to understand the Derridean idea of survival, this paper analyses the concept of death developed by Jacques Derrida, as well as the dialogue that this concept establishes with western thought (Hegel, Heidegger, Nietzsche etc.). The discussion emphasizes two aporias focused by Derrida: the aporia of relève and the aporia of finitude. After examining the place of Derrida's concept of death in relation to philosophical tradition, the paper aims to show that the relations between Derrida and literature - represented here by the works of Maurice Blanchot and Antoine Artaud - are able to give a kind of reply to these aporias, as well as to clarify the idea of death presented by the French philosopher.
Derrida; death; survival; mourning; deconstruction