(Felsefe) A philosophical movement and theory of literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity, and truth; asserts that words can only refer to other words; and attempts to demonstrate how statements about any text subvert their own meanings: “In deconstruction, the critic claims there is no meaning to be found in the actual text, but only in the various, often mutually irreconcilable, ‘virtual texts’ constructed by readers in their search for meaning” (Rebecca Goldstein)
{i} interpretive approach to analyzing texts that negates the idea that there is one objective meaning and leaves a text open to subjective and creative interpretation
one of the five modes of intellectual discourse, it enacts postmodern discourse in the mode of postmodern literary critics Rather than investing their time with religious phenomena in antiquity, deconstructionists devote their energies to phenomena that appear in modern and postmodern media Selecting this mode of discourse for commentary gives an interpreter access to very different social and economic circles of production than the other modes of discourse
Literary theory originally formulated by Jacques Derrida, based in its view of "textuality," which considers language not only in its written form but in speech, history, culture, and the world itself As the word implies, deconstructionists seem always to be "taking things apart" - the "things" being texts Deconstructionist methodology involves exposing the philosophical and linguistic assumptions implicit in a text For further discussion see The Postmodern Bible
This literary analysis is based on the political or social implications of language rather than on on the author's intention This approach believes that language does not refer to any external reality
a philosophical theory of criticism (usually of literature or film) that seeks to expose deep-seated contradictions in a work by delving below its surface meaning
A term that, for all practical purposes, was introduced in the literature by Derrida It means to undermine the conceptual order imposed by a concept that has captivated our imaginations and ways of seeing things (See Shawver, 1996)
The process of taking apart a structure with the primary goal of preserving the value of all useful building materials, so that they may be reused or recycled
The current trend of smaller value chains, with companies specialising in niche areas It can be considered the reverse of vertical integration (As defined by Philip Evans)
an attempt to dismantle the binary oppositions which govern a text by focussing on the aporias or impasses of meaning A deconstructive reading will identify the logocentric assumptions of a text and the binaries and hierarchies it contains It will demonstrate how a logocentric text always undercuts its own assumptions, its own system of logic
Derrida's method aiming to overcome crucial metaphysical dichotomies By showing that one term of an opposition is unjustifiably privileged with respect to the other, deconstruction allows us to use the pair of terms freed from metaphysical distortion His approach to deconstruction employs sophisticated and surprising responses to language, culture and society derived from Freud and others
Refers to the dismantling of buildings to salvage wood and other building materials for reuse
taking apart or examining any literature or institution (like a government) and uncovering its inconsistencies and hidden meanings
a method used in philosophy and the criticism of literature which claims that there is no single explanation of the meaning of a piece of writing. Method of philosophical and literary analysis, derived mainly from the work of Jacques Derrida, that questions the fundamental conceptual distinctions, or "oppositions," in Western philosophy through a close examination of the language and logic of philosophical and literary texts. Such oppositions are characteristically "binary" and "hierarchical," involving a pair of terms in which one member of the pair is assumed to be primary or fundamental, the other secondary or derivative; examples include nature/culture, speech/writing, and mind/body. To "deconstruct" an opposition is to explore the tensions and contradictions between the hierarchical ordering assumed in the text and other aspects of the text's meaning, especially its figurative or performative aspects. The deconstruction "displaces" the opposition by showing that neither term is primary; the opposition is a product, or "construction," of the text rather than something given independently of it. The speech/writing opposition, according to which speech is "present" to the speaker or author and writing "absent," is a manifestation of what Derrida calls the "logocentrism" of Western culture i.e., the general assumption that there is a realm of "truth" existing prior to and independent of its representation by linguistic signs. In polemical discussions about intellectual trends of the late 20th century, deconstruction was sometimes used pejoratively to suggest nihilism and frivolous skepticism. In popular usage the term has come to mean a critical dismantling of tradition and traditional modes of thought. See also postmodernism; poststructuralism