A friend from college posted the fact that Derrida is dead to his LiveJournal and I find I am utterly baffled.
If you were living under a humanities rock, Derrida is the fella who, in the 60s and 70s spelled out what others term a "philosophy" and what to me just seems like - duh- reality: that virtually all meaning people find in words is shaped by perspective. The author writes "I like eating babies" and to the author "babies" is slang for tea and crumpets. The reader reads and assumes a human child is about to be served up for dinner. Who's right? Discuss. That's the "in 30 seconds with bunnies" version of Deconstructionism.
The consequences of the communication gap being given a name and identified as a tool for understanding the act of communication can be seen everywhere from diplomacy to literary criticism.
What's odd to me is that this person was ever alive in the same century as I am at all. I haven't read him seriously, just the papers every serious English scholar had better have read in their undergrad if they want not to be laughed out of a Masters interview. Somehow this is like having Isaac Newton die. Uh - you mean he was still ALIVE? His work's such a fixture in modern thought.
I am baffled. And a little sad.
Posted by karen at October 9, 2004 05:51 PM