dekonstruktion

Dekonstruktion is a philosophical and critical approach associated with French thinker Jacques Derrida, developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It aims to show that texts, concepts, and social practices do not possess rigid, self-sufficient meanings but rely on unstable binaries and presuppositions that undermine themselves.

Core ideas include différance, the trace, and logocentrism. These concepts challenge the priority of speech over writing, show that meaning arises through difference and deferral, and argue that presence is always mediated by absence. Deconstruction also analyzes binary oppositions to reveal hierarchies and internal tensions within texts.

Methodologically, deconstruction involves close reading to uncover internal tensions and ambiguities, examining authorship, context, and ideology, and highlighting that meanings are not fixed but contingent and unstable. It is not nihilism; rather, it seeks to show how claims to truth depend on contingent conditions and self-contradictions.

Key works include Derrida’s Of Grammatologie (1967), Writing and Difference (1967), and Dissemination (1981). The approach has influenced literary theory, philosophy, law, anthropology, feminism, and cultural studies, contributing to debates about interpretation, authority, and critique.

Critics argue that deconstruction can be obscure or relativistic, while proponents emphasize its aim to reveal hidden assumptions and to treat texts and practices as provisional and contestable rather than final authorities.

In architecture, the term deconstructivism is often used to describe a related but distinct movement characterized by fragmentation, non-linear processes, and complex geometries.