Hello everyone, This blog is part of academic activity. This blog is given by our professor Dilip Barad. In this blog we have watch some videos on deconstruction and after we have to given this question answer.
- First of all what is deconstruction?
Deconstruction doesn't actually mean "demolition;" instead it means "breaking down" or analyzing something (especially the words in a work of fiction or nonfiction) to discover its true significance, which is supposedly almost never exactly what the author intended.
Now I am jump on discuss question which was given by sir.
1.1 Why is it difficult to define Deconstruction?
Deconstruction is difficult to define due to its multiple interpretations, abstract nature, context-dependency, and intellectual complexity.
1.2 Is Deconstruction a negative term?
-Not exactly a negative term. In fact it is not a negative term. Actually, Derrida is inquiring in to the condition or what causes philosophical system or meaning to stand up on its own and fall down. He is inquiring into the foundation.
Actually, it is not a negative term. Derrida wanted to transform the way people think.
1.3. How does Deconstruction happen on its own?
In a sense that the conditions which give 'meaning' to the system, that very conditions put a limit to it. So, when the foundations of meanings are inquired, it breakfree the limitations. Thus, an inquiry into foundations destroys the institution. So we can say that deconstruction happens on its own.
2.1 The influence of Heidegger on Derrida
Derrida himself in the famous "Letter to a Japanese Friend" (1983) pointed out that the term was a product of his wish, “to translate and adapt to my own ends the Heidggerian word Destruktion or Abbau. Each signified in this context an operation bearing on the structure or traditional architecture of the fundamental concepts of ontology or of Western metaphysics”.
2.2 Derridean rethinking of the foundations of Western philosophy.
Derrida wants to rethink the very foundation of western philosophy and he also wants to reinvent the language in which the philosophy has done.
3.1 Ferdinand de Saussureian concept of language (that meaning is arbitrary, relational, constitutive)
Ferdinand de Saussure's concept of language emphasizes that meaning in language is arbitrary, relational, and constitutive. This means that the connection between words and their meanings is not inherently logical or fixed, but rather established through social and cultural agreements, relationships, and the structure of language itself.
3.2 How Derrida deconstructs the idea of arbitrariness?
Derrida deconstructs the idea of arbitrariness by revealing the complexities and contradictions within language. He argues that language is not based on fixed, objective associations between words and meanings, but is instead shaped by contextual influences and power dynamics.
3.3 Concept of metaphysics of presence
The concept of the metaphysics of presence refers to the traditional belief that truth and meaning are based on a stable, fixed presence or essence. Derrida challenges this notion, arguing that presence is elusive and always deferred, leading to the deconstruction of traditional metaphysical frameworks.
4.1 Derridean concept of DifferAnce
It is difference as we differentiate a word from another to understand its meaning. We do not define, actually, we differentiate. It is deference because the meaning is postponed - meaning is adjourned, put back. It is difference + Deference. Derrida combines both word and coins a new word.
4.2 Infinite play of meaning
The concept of the infinite play of meaning refers to the idea that meaning is not fixed or finite, but rather continuously shifting and open to interpretation. It emphasizes the endless possibilities for multiple and evolving meanings within language and discourse.
4.3 DIfferAnce = to differ + to defer
It highlights the intertwined nature of two processes: to differ and to defer. Différance suggests that meaning is created through both the distinction and delay of signs, with each sign pointing to another in an ongoing chain of references, leading to an ever-deferred, never fully present, and stable meaning.
5.1 Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences.
"Structure, Sign, and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences" is an essay by Jacques Derrida that challenges fixed meanings and highlights the instability of language, urging a reevaluation of traditional notions in the study of human sciences.
5.2 Explain: "Language bears within itself the necessity of its own critique."
Structuralism began as the critique of the assumption science as well as metaphysics. On the other hand it uses similar assumptions. The centre is, paradoxically, within the structure and outside it…the totality 'has its centre elsewhere'. The centre is not the centre. The ultimate meaning is never grasped.
The finality is impossible as the one who critiques something uses same language. So it is trapped in the interplay and free play of meaning. The lack in the language - the missing or the blind spot in language demands for the critic to fill it. It can be done only through language. The lack continues to be there.
6.1 The Yale School: the hub of the practitioners of Deconstruction in the literary theories.
The Yale School, associated with scholars like Paul de Man and J. Hillis Miller, was a prominent hub for practitioners of deconstruction in literary theory. Known for their engagement with Derrida's ideas, they applied deconstructive methods to analyse and critique literary texts, challenging traditional notions of meaning and interpretation.
6.2 The characteristics of the Yale School of Deconstruction.
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.
7.1 How other schools like New Historicism, Cultural Materialism, Feminism, Marxism and Postcolonial theorists used Deconstruction?
Other schools such as New Historicism, Cultural Materialism, Feminism, Marxism, and Postcolonial theorists have used deconstruction as a tool to critique and challenge established power structures, hierarchies, and dominant narratives within society. They employ deconstruction to reveal inherent contradictions, instabilities, and conflicts in historical and cultural discourses, to expose power relations and social inequalities, to subvert patriarchal ideologies and gender norms, to critique capitalist ideologies and class interests, and to dismantle colonial narratives and challenge the lingering effects of colonialism on language and culture.
After watching the video, I did not understand some things which I have presented through the question. Which was given below -
1. How does Deconstruction challenge traditional views of language and meaning?
2. What are the main idea and concepts associated with Derrida's deconstruction?
3. According to Derrida, what is the relationship between structure and sign?
4. How does Derrida's concept of 'play' challenge traditional notions of meaning and interpretation?
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