Jacques Derrida's "Cliche" and its philosophical and ethical implications in photography

The article discusses the analysis of photography in Jacques Derrida's work, "Demeure, Athens", which was inspired by a series of 34 photographs taken by Jean-François Bonhomme in Athens. Derrida's 20 chapters on clichés resonate with the photographs, demonstrating how photography goes beyond the mere technique of representation and becomes a key to understanding fundamental philosophical concepts. Derrida emphasizes both the essential aspects and the most delicate and elusive aspects of photography. At the same time, his photographic studies focus on the phrase "We owe ourselves to death", which is repeated as a refrain and largely determines the structure of his text (in anticipation of Socrates' postponed death sentence) and sets the range of topics he addresses (death, memory, duty, time, delay, etc.). The article is based on an analysis of a number of texts by Jacques Derrida, comparing them with Plato's dialogues "Phaedo" and "Crito", well as on the phenomenological approach to photography. Intertextual and comparative methods are used. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the systematization of the deconstructivist approach to photography and the identification of the special ethics of the attitude towards the photographic image formed by it. Exploring Derrida's key ideas related to the problem of photography, the article forms new horizons for understanding the philosophical and ethical foundations of modern visual media. The author shows the significant contribution of Jacques Derrida's philosophy to the understanding of the phenomenology of photography, emphasizing the complex interrelationships between image, memory and identity. Ultimately, the phenomenology of photography, as understood by the philosopher, becomes not so much a tool for studying art as a way of understanding human experience in its versatility and complexity. Derrida draws a bold and paradoxical conclusion: philosophy itself owes something to photography in its essence or origin.