Khôra

Khôra (Khora or Chora; Ancient Greek: χώρα) is a philosophical term described by Plato in Timaeus as a receptacle, a space, or an interval. It is neither being nor nonbeing but an interval between in which the "forms" were originally held. Khôra "gives space" and has maternal overtones (a womb, matrix).

Key authors addressing "khôra" include Heidegger who refers to a "clearing" in which being happens or takes place (Nader El-Bizri, 2001, 2004). Julia Kristeva deploys the term as part of her analysis of the difference between the semiotic and symbolic realms, in that Plato's concept of "khora" is said to anticipate the emancipatory employment of semiotic activity as a way of evading the allegedly phallocentric character of symbolic activity (signification through language), which, following Lacan, is regarded as an inherently limiting and oppressive form of praxis. More recently, Jacques Derrida uses "khôra" to name a radical otherness that "gives place" for being. For Derrida, "khôra" defies attempts at naming or either/or logic which he attempts to "deconstruct" (see deconstruction).

Following Derrida, John Caputo describes khôra as:

neither present nor absent, active or passive, the good nor evil, living nor nonliving - but rather atheological and nonhuman - khôra is not even a receptacle. Khôra has no meaning or essence, no identity to fall back upon. She/it receives all without becoming anything, which is why she/it can become the subject of neither a philosopheme nor mytheme. In short, the khôra is tout autre [fully other], very

References

• Derrida, Jacques (1995). "Khôra". In T. Dutoit. On the Name. Stanford: Stanford University Press.  Translation of Derrida, Jacques 1993: Khôra. Paris: Galilée.
• Caputo, John D. (2004). "Love among the Deconsructibles: A Response to Gregg Lambert". JCRT 5 (2): 37ff. http://www.jcrt.org/archives/05.2/caputo.pdf. 
• Nader El-Bizri, "‘Qui-êtes vous Khôra?’: Receiving Plato’s Timaeus," Existentia Meletai-Sophias, Vol. XI, Issue 3-4 (2001), pp. 473–490
• Nader El-Bizri, "ON KAI KHORA: Situating Heidegger between the Sophist and the Timaeus," Studia Phaenomenologica, Vol. IV, Issue 1-2 (2004), pp. 73–98.
• Nader El-Bizri, "Ontopoiēsis and the Interpretation of Plato’s Khôra," Analecta Husserliana: The Yearbook of Phenomenological Research, Vol. LXXXIII (2004), pp. 25–45.
• Nader El-Bizri, "Being at Home Among Things: Heidegger’s Reflections on Dwelling", Environment, Space, Place Vol. 3 (2011)pp. 47-71