Navigation
Students learn to challenge binary oppositions and explore the instability of language and meaning.
Imagine pulling a single loose thread on a sweater, only to find that the entire garment wasn't made of wool, but of the very air around you. What if the words we use to define 'truth' actually rely on 'lies' to make any sense at all?
In traditional Western thought, we tend to organize the world into Binary Oppositions: pairs of related terms that are opposite in meaning, such as Light/Dark, Male/Female, or Speech/Writing. However, Jacques Derrida, the father of Deconstruction, argued that these pairs are never equal. One term is always privileged (seen as superior or 'natural'), while the other is marginalized. For example, in many classic stories, 'Reason' is privileged over 'Emotion.' Deconstruction isn't just about flipping these pairs; it’s about showing that the 'superior' term actually depends on the 'inferior' one for its definition. Without the concept of 'darkness,' the word 'light' has no meaning. The boundary between them is a fragile construction, not a natural fact.
1. Identify the binary: Hero vs. Villain. 2. Note the hierarchy: The Hero is 'good/central'; the Villain is 'evil/marginal.' 3. Subvert it: Observe how the Hero’s 'goodness' is only defined by the Villain’s actions. If the Villain didn't exist, the 'Hero' would just be a person. Therefore, the 'superior' Hero is actually a prisoner of the Villain's existence.
Quick Check
In the binary 'Civilized vs. Savage,' which term is typically privileged in colonial literature?
Answer
Civilized is the privileged term, as it is presented as the 'norm' or the ideal state of being.
Post-structuralists believe that language is unstable. Derrida coined the term *différance, a play on the French words for 'to differ' and 'to defer.' This suggests two things: 1) Words get their meaning by being different from other words (a 'cat' is a 'cat' because it is not a 'bat'), and 2) Meaning is always deferred* (postponed). When you look up a word in a dictionary, you find more words. You never reach a 'final' meaning; you just move through an endless chain of signifiers. Because the context of a word changes every time it is used, the 'truth' of a text is never fully present—it is always sliding away.
Consider the sentence: 'I am lying.' 1. If the 'I' is telling the truth, then the statement is a lie. 2. If the 'I' is lying, then the statement is true. 3. The meaning of 'I' and 'lying' cannot be fixed because they contradict each other the moment they are uttered. The meaning is deferred indefinitely.
Quick Check
Why does Deconstruction claim that a dictionary can never give you the 'final' meaning of a word?
Answer
Because a dictionary defines words using other words, creating an infinite loop where meaning is always postponed (deferred) rather than reached.
The ultimate goal of a deconstructive reading is to find the Aporia. An aporia is a logical 'dead end' or a moment of undecidability where the text's own logic contradicts itself. Every text contains the seeds of its own destruction. A poem might praise the 'purity of nature' while using highly 'artificial' metaphors to describe it. By pointing out these contradictions, we show that the text does not have a single, unified theme. Instead, it is a site of conflicting forces. We aren't 'breaking' the text; we are showing how it was already broken from the start due to the instability of language.
Analyze a legal document that says: 'To be truly free, one must follow the law.' 1. Identify the binary: Freedom vs. Constraint (Law). 2. Locate the contradiction: The text claims 'Freedom' (the absence of constraint) is achieved through 'Law' (the presence of constraint). 3. Identify the Aporia: The concept of 'Freedom' in this text is built upon its exact opposite. The text's logic unravels because it cannot define freedom without relying on the very thing that destroys it.
What does it mean to 'privilege' a term in a binary opposition?
Which concept describes the way meaning is always 'postponed' in language?
Aporia is a moment in a text where the meaning becomes perfectly clear and unified.
Review Tomorrow
In 24 hours, try to explain the concept of 'différance' to a friend using the example of a dictionary.
Practice Activity
Pick a famous quote (e.g., 'Fortune favors the bold') and identify the binary opposition. How does 'boldness' depend on 'caution' for its definition?