Jacques Derrida

Jacques Derrida and His Deconstruction

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INTRODUCTION

Deconstruction has been one of the most intriguing concepts in philosophy , with its definite meaning still being pursued at least in terms of a philosophical inquiry . Only in the past decade or so has the term been widely used as a part of the wider American language . And when the term deconstruction enters the inquisitive mind , Jacques Derrida - the man responsible for the popularity of the term itself - never fails to enter

the inquiry

The philosophy of Derrida has strongly influenced the thoughts of many inasmuch as his philosophy has also etched its own distinctive mark in the broad field of philosophy and the intellectual life (Owens , 1994 ,

br 284 )f . Largely taken from his critical approach towards philosophizing that identifies him apart from the rest of the philosophers deconstruction has earned him a reputable status . Far more importantly Derrida 's deconstruction is integrally connected to the bigger domain of postmodernism

His methodology attacks knowledge by provoking and questioning the ways in which human beings are able to know and act in to elucidate and comprehend the self (Grene , 1977 ,

. 682 . Even the most obvious things that appear before human cognition is placed under the helm of deconstruction by questioning the values of self-evidence as well as the dichotomies that are assumed to be logical and non-judgmental in character in which we live by as members of the larger society

This aims at analyzing and critiquing the philosophy of Jacques Derrida , especially his deconstructionism , after laying down the crucial and central points in his philosophy . By providing a brief sketch of what deconstruction is in the contexts of philosophy and of the society one can arrive at a fuller comprehension of the implications of Derrida 's philosophical exploits

DERRIDA AND DECONSTRUCTION

Isolating Derrida from deconstruction - or even the other way around - is simply futile as one cannot go without the other . Jacques Derrida is almost perfectly synonymous with deconstructionism . It is imperative to note that at the heart of Derrida 's deconstruction is the attempt to undermine the oppositional inclinations that have transpired within the philosophical tradition of the West . The existing oppositional tendencies that prevailed at the height of dualism are in fact the recipient of the criticisms thrown by deconstruction (Ellis , 1988 ,

br 260

Perhaps the most notable precept in Derrida 's deconstruction is that while it attacks the grand narratives that seek to explain the world and the knowledge of man , it nevertheless employs these narratives as the basic foundation of the main attempt to deconstruct ' these same narratives . Moreover , deconstruction also attempts at revealing the subtle or underlying dichotomies that reinforce and define the grand narratives and at distorting these dichotomies instead of promoting a replacement narrative for the status quo

By taking up a prolonged and , oftentimes , lengthy examination of the specific texts , deconstruction functions as methodology in which its commitment belongs to the meticulous analyses of...