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deconstruction
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In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely defined set of approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essences which are valued above appearances. American literary critic and major proponent of deconstruction Barbara Johnson describes the approach in this way:
Deconstruction is a philosophical approach, developed by Jacques Derrida, that examines how texts create meaning by questioning the idea that words have fixed, "true" essences separate from their appearances and uses. It matters because it challenges traditional assumptions about how language works and what texts actually mean, offering a different way to read and interpret writing.
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39 sectionsContents
- Overview
- Influences
- Influence of Nietzsche
- Influence of Saussure
- Deconstruction according to Derrida
- Etymology
- Basic philosophical concerns
- {{Lang|fr|Différance}}
- Metaphysics of presence
- Deconstruction and dialectics
- Difficulty of definition
- Derrida's "negative" descriptions
- Not a method
- Not a critique
- Not an analysis
- Not post-structuralist
- Alternative definitions
- Popular definitions
- Application
- Literary criticism
- Critique of structuralism
- Development after Derrida
- The Yale School
- Critical legal studies movement
- ''Deconstructing History''
- ''The Inoperative Community''
- ''The Ethics of Deconstruction''
- ''Derrida and the Political''
- Faith
- Cuisine
- Criticisms
- John Searle
- Jürgen Habermas
- Walter A. Davis
- In popular media
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely defined set of approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essences which are valued above appearances. American literary critic and major proponent of deconstruction Barbara Johnson describes the approach in this way:
Since the 1980s, these proposals of language's fluidity instead of being ideally static and discernible have inspired a range of studies in the humanities, including the disciplines of law, anthropology, historiography, linguistics, sociolinguistics, psychoanalysis, LGBT studies, and feminism. Deconstruction also inspired deconstructivism in architecture and remains important within art, music, and literary criticism.