Challenging ‘Bad Infinity’

Abstract

Ricœur enjoyed the open, collegial North American campus in contrast to the French atmosphere that he felt was characterized by student actions he supported, yet often understood as negative militancy. However, in America he also became wary of attempts by minority campus groups to replace discrimination with celebratory recognition of their difference. I interpret his approach as based upon a flawed understanding of power imbalances, exemplified in his development of the term ‘bad infinity’ to describe what he perceived as ever more insistent and insatiable minority demands. This is a common position that I see in myself, so in challenging his work I am challenging myself.