Hello, I am Himanshi Parmar, student of MK Bhavnagar University. This blog i have written as a response to Thinking Activity, Which is a Part of my academic Work. Which we get after each unit. In this blog, i am going to discuss about my understanding on Derrida and Deconstruction after watching several videos.
Video - 1
Derrida refuses to define the term deconstruction by asking several questions like, "Is it possible to define something?" And "what are the limits or to what extent can we define something?" This questions are indicating that there is no particular definition or meaning one can use for deconstruction. To understand deconstruction we need to understand multiple ideas and definitions first. When everyone wants clear cut ideas or definition at that time Derrida becomes very difficult to read and to understand. It's a major reason that Deconstruction is hard to understand.
Deconstruction is not a negative term according to Derrida because according to him it is not a destructive activity. Or it is not for breakdown something. According to Derrida, Deconstruction is not destructive activity, but an inquiry into the foundations that causes an intellectual systems. Derrida wants to change views of others so deconstruction is positive term in a sense.
The seeds of Deconstruction sprouted from Martin Heideggar (1889-1976). Derrida take reference from Heideggar's project that he wanted to translate into french from German. Derrida tries to explain his concept of Deconstruction to his Japanese friend in a letter named professor Izutsu on 10 July 1983. The condition that Derrida argues is based on distinctions or binary oppositions. And this conditions are responsible for undoing the texts. And the term that he uses for this is "DifferAnce". So this is how deconstruction happens on its own.
Video - 2
Martin Heideggar along with Sigmund Freud and Friedrich Nietzsche are three most important thinkers. Derrida acknowledged them in his work, "structure, sign, and play in the discourse of the human sciences". Many of the ideas of this three thinkers carried ahead by Derrida. Heideggar deals with some important themes which Derrida also carried ahed in his philosophy. One of the most important theme is, "The term destruction is translated as a deconstruction in French. It has direct connection between Heideggar and Derrida. By Pershing the question of being of being, Heideggar tired to destroy the entire tradition of Western philosophy. Western philosophy rejected the original form of things thats what Heideggar negated in his famous book 'Being and Time'. He is not just wanted to change the philosophy but also the way western people think. Derrida is continuing this deconstruction and dismantling of western philosophy.
Another is theme of language. According to Heideggar it is language which speaks not men. And meaning is product of language.so initially men is decentered from language.this post structuralist idea we find in Heideggar as well as in Nietzsche.This idea is also Derrida continuing.Derrida wanted to reinvent the philosophy of language.
Derrida argued that whole question of writing is neglected and repressed in western philosophy just like the idea in which Heideggar said that the whole concept of being of being is neglected. Its very important to focus on western philosophy as language as writing more than language as speaking according to Derrida. Derrida is not just blindly following Heideggar but also criticising him by saying that Heideggar is also focus more on language as speech rather then writing.And to this he called phonocentricism and logocentricism.
Video - 3
Ferdinand de Saussureian in his work 'Couse in general Linguistics' discussed about Concept of language, its meaning, relational and Constitutive etc.He said that what Connects a word with its meaning or as signal with it's meaning is the convention. And convention is always social. Derrida points out that meaning of any word is nothing but another word. Meaning of word is not meaning but word.
Derrida considered language as an ever-changing movement. Therefore, he substituted the diachronic term “unmotivation” for arbitrariness. He also made up a word: différance to replace différence, because the word différence cannot fully explain the correspondence between word and meaning from a diachronic perspective.
Concept of metaphysics is taken from Heideggar. It is connecting link between Heideggar and Derrida.according to Heideggar when we accept being of something, or connect it with physics, we also unconsciously accepts its presence.for example in language we use 'Is','Was','were'.which is the proof of its existence. In his book "Being and Time" Heideggar raise a question of existence. According to Heideggar western philosophy is built on the differences, and binary oppositions. We can say it is same like human languages.Ferdinand de Saussureian says that there is no positive elements in language but all are negative. To recognize any one particular term we have to understand other terms too.so it is contrasting.Metaphysics of Presence is discussed in terms of binary opposition inherent in language and thus in philosophy.
Video - 4
It is very difficult to understand the difference between DeferAnce and Difference. Because it is not a audible difference. The term différance means "difference and deferral of meaning."
DeferAnce meaning is it is difference as we differentiate a word from another to understand its meaning. We do not define, actually, we differentiate. According to Derrida, when we try to find meaning of any word from dictionary or from anywhere, what we find is not meaning but another word.meaning of one word is set of another word. So Derrida says that one word leads to another word and that word leads to yet another. And we again and again going back to dictionary. Meaning is always postponed, its change always. According to Derrida final meaning is nothing but a myth.one can never able to reach the final meaning. Derrida drawing attention towards difference between speech and writing. He question privilege of speech over writing.
In the words difference + Deference, Derrida combines both word and creats a new word.A concept introduced by Derrida, differance is a pun on “difference” and “deferment”, and is that attribute of language, by which meaning is generated because of a word's difference from other words in a signifying system, and at the same time, meaning is inevitably and infinitely deferred.DifferAnce is not an idea or concept but a force which makes differentiation possible , which makes postponing possible.DifferAnce is a force which make postponing possible.
Video - 5
Structure, sign and play in the discourse of the human science is the a paper read on structuralism at Johns Hopkins in 1966 by philosopher Jacques Derrida.The lecture is widely cited as the starting point for post-structuralism in the United States. Derrida said that structuralism when first began it begans like criticism and attack on metaphysics and science. On one hand structuralism is criticizing the metaphysics and science but on the other hand it is using a same assumptions.criticism is movie around the tradition for example Heideggar said that Friedrich Nietzche was last metaphysics but Derrida said Heideggar is the last metaphysician.this how criticism never go out of tradition.
Criticism is happened because of language because language coded assumptions into it. So in final meaning of language never be achieved but it can only be promised and differed.so difference make ultimate interpretation. when critics make criticism on something they use same language and same language leads to same ideas and assumptions.when one can start attacking or criticising something they start coping that in a sense. And according to Derrida that is happened because of language, because they are using same language. This how language bears within itself the necessity of its own critique.
Video - 6
Yale school has played very important role in propagation on Derrida's idea.when deconstruction go to Yale university it was became so new and unique. Four names are connected with Yale university Paul de Man, J Hillis Miller, Harold Bloom, Geoffrey Hartman. They are knowing as 'hermeneutic mafias' of Yale University.This four people made deconstruction popular as well unpopular in America.This four people are totally different by their occupation, but first time because of Yale deconstruction considered as a school in literary criticism.
Major characteristics of Yale School of Deconstruction are,
1) Looking at literature as figurative or rhetorical construct.
2)They questioned both the aesthetic as well as formalist approach to literature and also questioned the historicist and sociologist approach to literature.
3) They were highly pre-occupied with Romanticism.
Video :- 7
Yale university was preoccupied with rhetorical and figurative analysis of literary text.Feminism, cultural materialism, historicism, Marxism, postcolonial theorists used deconstruction.postcolonial theory is fascinated by its ability to show that the texts or the discource of the colonizer can be deconstructed from within the narratives. feminist theories deals with how to subvert the binaries between male and female. By its ability to subvert patriarchal discourse. Historicism fascinated by its ability to see historicity of text and textuality of history. History is textual and text is historical.Cultural Materialists fascinated by its ability to emphasize materiality of language - Language is material construct and it has got ability to unmask hidden ideological agendas. This how schools like New Historicism, Cultural Materialism, Feminism, Marxism and Postcolonial theorists used Deconstruction.
I hope my blog will be helpful to you. Thank you!
