Summary of Post-Structuralism free essay sample

For example: the word ‘red’ may have a completely different meaning in the words ‘red rose’, which means ‘love’ while in traffic lights, red means ‘stop’. The red of traffic lights, then carries the ‘traces’ of amber and green within it, and is not pure red (2008: 97). * The ‘present’ of a word we speak is therefore not the true present, which forever eludes language: ‘spacing’ and ‘temporization’ intervene. Derrida captures this in a self-coined term, differance that contains both the idea of difference and the process of deferral of meaning. Derrida destabilizes the relationship between signifier and signified. The signifier or the word we hear or read – is of course stable enough, but what it signifies – the signified – is according to Derrida subject to an inherent instability (Bertens, 2008: 98). Assumptions of Post-Structuralism Derridean Deconstruction * It begins with and emphatically affirms Saussure’s decree that language is a system based on differences. Derrida agrees with Saussure that one can know the meaning of signifiers through and because of their relationships and their differences among themselves. We will write a custom essay sample on Summary of Post-Structuralism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page * However, different from Saussure, Derrida also applies the reasoning to the signified. Like the signifier, the signified (or concept) can also be known only through its relationships and its differences among other signifieds. In this case, Derrida sets forth some assumptions: Transcendental Signified * Derrida asserts that the entire history of Western metaphysics is founded upon a classic, fundamental error: the searching for a transcendental signified, or an external point of reference on which one may build a concept or philosophy * Once found, this transcendental signified would provide ultimate meaning, being the origin of origins, and provide a â€Å"reassuring end to the reference from sign to sign. * The transcendental signified would have to be understood without being compared to other signifieds or signifiers. Logocentrism * According to Derrida, Western metaphysics has invented a variety of terms that function as centers: God, reason, origin, being, essence, truth, humanity, beginning, self, to name a few. Each can operate as a concept that is self-suffic ient and self-originating and can serve as a transcendental signified. * Derrida names this Western proclivity for desiring a center as logocentrism: or the belief that there is an ultimate reality or center of truth that can serve as the basis for all our thoughts and actions. To decenter any transcendental signified is to be caught up in the terminology that allows that centering concept to operate. For example, if the concept man functions as the center and one then â€Å"discover† woman, he places in motion a binary operation: man and woman. By decentering and questioning the man, he causes woman to become the new center. By questioning the old center, he establishes a new one. Binary Oppositions * Since the establishing of one center of unity means to decenter another, Derrida assumes that Western metaphysics is based on a system of binary oppositions. The philosophy holds that in each of these binary oppositions, one concept is superior and defines itself by its opposit e or inferior center. For example, one knows boy because he knows girl; one knows tidy because he knows messy. Phonocentrism * In the binary oppositions, one element will always be in a superior position, or privileged, whereas the other becomes inferior, or unprivileged. For example: man/woman, human/animal, soul/body, employer/servant, etc. even in speech/writing. This privileging of speech over writing is called phonocentrism. * Speech implies presence, while writing signifies absence. Since phonocentrism is based on the assumption that speech conveys the meaning or direct ideas of a speaker better that writing, phonocentrism assumes a logocentric way of thinking. Methodology of Post-Structuralism The Structuralist seeks: Parallels/Echoes Balances Reflections/Repetitions Symmetry Contrasts Patterns Effect: To show textual unity and coherence The Post-structuralist seeks: Contradictions/Paradoxes Shifts/Breaks in: Tone, viewpoint, tense, time, person, attitude, conflicts, absences/omissions, linguistic quirks, aporia Effect: To show textual disunity (Peter Barry, 1995)