DECONSTRUCTION
DECONSTRUCTION
- Founder: Deconstruction is a theoretical
framework developed by French philosopher Jacques Derrida, often
considered the beginning of post-structuralism.
- Key Texts: Derrida's major ideas on
deconstruction can be found in essays such as "Force and
Signification" and "Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of
the Human Sciences," as well as books like "Of
Grammatology," "Margins of Philosophy," and others.
- Yale School: Some American critics, including
Geoffrey Hartman, Harold Bloom, Paul de Man, and J. Hillis Miller,
associated with the Yale school, have followed and contributed to
deconstruction.
- Not a Method: Deconstruction is not a method of
analyzing or interpreting texts but rather a "textual practice."
Its main aim is to demonstrate the inherent instability of language and
meaning.
- Challenges to Structuralism: Deconstruction challenges the two
major assumptions of structuralism: the systemic approach to texts and
methodical forms of analysis. It rejects the commitment to binary
oppositions inherent in structuralism.
- Saussure's Concepts: Derrida's critique is based on
Saussurian linguistics, particularly the concepts of signifier (the form
of a word) and signified (its meaning). Saussure argued that the
relationship between them is arbitrary.
- Differance: Derrida introduces the term
"differance" to describe the simultaneous processes of
"difference" (comparing meanings) and "deference"
(postponing meaning). He argues that meaning is never fixed but constantly
shifting.
- Logocentrism: Derrida attacks "logocentrism,"
the belief in the essential presence of meaning in language, and argues
that meaning is absent, leading to a "free play of meaning."
- Relevance to Literary Studies: In literary studies, deconstruction
challenges the idea of fixed meanings in texts. Derrida's concepts of
"words under erasure" and "traces left on the page"
emphasize the absence of a fixed meaning. Deconstructive critics write
supplements to texts, asserting the fluidity of meaning and the reader's
role in interpreting it.
Deconstruction is a complex theoretical framework that challenges traditional notions of language, meaning, and interpretation, making it a significant contribution to post-structuralist thought.
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