Derrida: The Father of Deconstruction

The Father of Deconstruction

This blog is solely dedicated to Jacques Derrida: The Father of Deconstruction.  Deconstruction is one of the several doctrines in contemporary philosophy often loosely held under the umbrella terms post-structuralism and post-modernism. Jacques Derrida coined the term in the 1960s, and proved more forthcoming with negative, rather than a pined-for positive, analyzes of the school.

Derrida says, deconstruction is a word whose fortunes have disagreeably surprised me. Defining deconstruction is an activity that goes against the whole thrust of Derrida’s thought. Derrida has said that any statement such as “deconstruction is X” or “deconstruction is not-X” automatically misses the point.  Not only is the definition and meaning of deconstruction in dispute between advocates and critics, but also among proponents.

Derrida’s disclaimers present a major obstacle to any attempt, to encapsulate his thoughts. He tells that deconstruction is neither an analytical nor a critical tool, neither a method, nor an operation, nor an act performed on text by a subject; that is, rather a term that resists both definition and translation. To make matters worse, he adds that ‘all sentence of the type “deconstruction is X” or “deconstruction is not X” miss the point. Which is to say that they are at least false.

Here an attempt is made to understand the term in a way, so as to simplify it, and give its philosophical significance.  Your  comments  are most welcome…

---

Jayant Prasad, Research Student, Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay-400076

All Posts

• Hello world!
• Derrida
   
• 1 Derrida: An Introduction
        1. Derrida: An Introduction Jacques Derrida, French philosopher, is the founding father of Deconstruction, a controversial system of analysis, which challenges the basis of traditional western thought. Derrida evolves Deconstruction as a strategy of critical questioning directed towards exposing unquestionable metaphysical assumptions and internal contradictions in philosophical and literary language. Deconstruction often… Read more: 1 Derrida: An Introduction
• 2. Of Grammatology
    Of Grammatology Derrida’s monumental work Of Grammatology (1967) is his most representative work. Of Grammatology is an examination of the relation between speech and writing, and it is an investigation of how speech and writing develop as forms of language. Derrida argues that writing has often been considered to be derived from speech, and… Read more: 2. Of Grammatology
• 3. Some Key Terms
  1. Deconstruction Deconstruction is a strategy of critical questioning directed towards exposing unquestionable metaphysical assumptions and internal contradictions in philosophical and literary language. Deconstruction often involves a way of reading that concerns itself with decentering—with unmasking the problematic nature of all centers. Further deconstruction is a form of textual practice derived from Derrida, which aims… Read more: 3. Some Key Terms
• 4. Deconstruction: Analysed
  Deconstruction: Deconstruction is one of the several doctrines in contemporary philosophy often loosely held under the umbrella terms post-structuralism and postmodernism. Jacques Derrida coined the term in the 1960s, and proved more forthcoming with negative, rather than a pined-for positive, analyses of the school. Derrida says, deconstruction is a word whose fortunes have disagreeably surprised… Read more: 4. Deconstruction: Analysed
• 5.1 Application of Deconstruction-1
  Application of Deconstruction: In order to show how Deconstruction works in philosophy, Derrida introduces in his Of Grammatology some great thinkers and linguistics like, Saussure, Levi-Strauss, and Rousseau and applies deconstruction to their thought. In this section we will discuss about Derrida and Saussure. Derrida and Saussure In order to show, how Deconstruction is applied… Read more: 5.1 Application of Deconstruction-1
• 5.2 Application of Deconstruction-2
  Application of Deconstruction: In order to show how Deconstruction works in philosophy, Derrida introduces in his Of Grammatology some great thinkers and linguistics like, Saussure, Levi-Strauss, and Rousseau and applies deconstruction to their thought. In this section we will discuss about Derrida and Rousseau. Derrida and Rousseau Having displayed how Saussure’s argument about the centrality… Read more: 5.2 Application of Deconstruction-2
• 5.3 Application of Deconstruction-3
  Application of Deconstruction: In order to show how Deconstruction works in philosophy, Derrida introduces in his Of Grammatology some great thinkers and linguistics like, Saussure, Levi-Strauss, and Rousseau and applies deconstruction to their thought. In this section we will discuss about Derrida and Levi-Strauss.   Derrida and Levi-Strauss Derrida now turns his attention to French… Read more: 5.3 Application of Deconstruction-3
• 5.4 Application of Deconstruction-4
  Application of Deconstruction: In order to show how Deconstruction works in philosophy, Derrida introduces in his Of Grammatology some great thinkers and linguistics like, Saussure, Levi-Strauss, and Rousseau and applies deconstruction to their thought. In this section we will discuss about Derrida and Warburton, Vico, Condillac.   Derrida and Warburton, Vico, Condillac Of Grammatology concludes… Read more: 5.4 Application of Deconstruction-4
• Grammatology as a Positive Science
  Grammatology as a Positive Science   “On what conditions is a grammatology possible?” Derrida asks in chapter 3. His search for an answer is guided by the work of Madeleine V. David, whose Le Debat sur les ecritures et I’hieroglyphe aux xvii et xviii siecles (1965) provided Derrida with the occasion for the first formulation… Read more: Grammatology as a Positive Science
• An Appraisal to Derrida
  In this section I will take up a few major objections raised against Derrida’s Deconstruction by his contemporaries, and afterwards will make an appraisal of deconstruction. 1. Criticism There have been a series of criticisms leveled at Derrida’s work both by those antipathetic to his project, and others, who, while remaining committed to some of… Read more: An Appraisal to Derrida
• Bibliography
  Here are some Primary and Secondary sources which i have used in writing the paper published in this blog. Primary Sources   Derrida, Jacques and Ferraris, Maurizio, A Taste for the Secret, Donis, Giacomo (Tr.), Cambridge, Polity Press, 2001    Derrida, Jacques, Adieu to Emmanuel Levinas, Pascale, Brault and Michael, Naas (Tr.), Stanford : Stanford University… Read more: Bibliography
• Spiwak and Derrida
• Writing in Reserve: Deconstruction on the Net
  Of Grammatology (chapter 2) Speech and writing according to Hegel Spectres of Marx (excerpt) Margins: Différance Afterw.rds (trilingual) Signature, Event, Context Impromptu Remarks Applied Derrida (Luton, England) What about Godard ? Letter to a Japanese Friend Jewish mysticism? ( English or German ) Nicht was Du denkst Forget it by heart Die Signatur aushöhlen Collectors’… Read more: Writing in Reserve: Deconstruction on the Net