Monday, July 12, 2010

Deconstruction

Jacques Derrida is a French Philosopher who demonstrated that all is meaningless because any text contains several meanings and contradictory meanings. Naturally, Jacques Derrida and Deconstruction "deconstructed" contain several meanings, are contradictory and are therefore meaningless.

That said, "All is meaningless" is the text of Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes went on to say 'nothing is new under the sun'. Deconstruction is not new. It just sounds new. At least it,did when Jacques Derrida was the speaker.

Unfortunately because it's a rather large hammer everything can be a nail to a 'deconstructionist'. Worse ,any novice deconstructionist, can appear intellectual but really only intellectualize. Philosophy isn't just criticism.

After a while you get to see the kids with the hammers and stop wanting to play nail. There is a great song that said, "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail." There's no fun in deconstructing deconstructionism either. Deconstructionists are simply not into construction. They won't even stay in their own suburbs because frankly there's no where to live where deconstructionists have been. Kind of the Vorgons of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Deconstructionism is kind of like Vorgon poetry.

There is only one Jacques Derrida. He's like a very fine square dance. However once you've been to one square dance all other square dances are just square dances. You've got to like country music. While I like country music there's a limit to the number of square dances I want to join in.

Jacques Derrida quotes:

" I became the stage for the great argument between Nietzsche and Rousseau. I was the extra ready to take on all the roles."
"As soon as there is a language generality has entered the scene"
"Certain readers resented me when they could no longer recognize their territory, their institution."
"I have always had school sickness, as others have seasickness."




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