Logocentrism

[Muchasmasgracias at cs.com]

I don't so much mind what is being expressed in the "logocentrism" post, I 
just wonder why it has to be put into such jargonized--nay, logocentric--terms
.  Derrida has been trying and successfully failing to shoot himself in the 
foot for decades.  I read a good phrase once that may apply to Derrida:  
trying to tap-dance while wearing leg-irons.

keith at pfmentum.com:

 "According to French philosopher Jacques Derrida, this privileging of speech
 over writing in philosophy is called phonocentrism.
     Phonocentrism is itself inextricably linked with logocentrism, which is
 "the orientation of philosophy toward an order of meaning - thought, truth,
 reason, logic, the Word - concieved as existing in itself, as foundation"
 (Culler 92).  In philosophy, these origins or foundations are characterized
 by presence, in that they exist of themselves, apart from anything else.
 They are themselves absolutely.  In attempting to define these kinds of
 absolutes, metaphysics has continually posited binary oppositions, such as
 nature/culture, man/woman, black/white, positive/negative.  In each case,
 the opposition is hierarchical, giving priority to the first term over the
 derivative or inferior second, as is the case of speech/writing.  However,
 Derrida questions the validity of such oppositions, as each term exists
 within a discourse, i.e. a system of differences.  No term can be understood
 without relating it to another.  Therefore, there can be no absolutes, as
 each term contains traces of others.  This is most clearly seen in the
 opposition between black and white.  In this opposition, black is only black
 in that it is not white.  However, since this is the defining characteristic
 of blackness, it will forever keep traces of white within it.  It cannot be
 understood without reference to white, which is no longer its opposite but
 its supplement, as it adds meaning to black.  As a result, there can be no
 "absolute" blackness.
     Given that knowledge can only be communicated through language,
 Derrida's difficulty with metaphysics lies in its belief in the transparency
 of language, and in its faith in "pure" ideas.  For Derrida, the
 philosopher's relationship to language must present itself as part of the
 problem of knowledge.  One cannot describe language as a transparent tool
 for communicating "pure" ideas, for the ideas are inextricably linked to
 language.  One cannot "remove" the ideas from the means by which they are
 communicated."*
 
 *http://www.stfx.ca/people/mmoynagh/445/more-445/Concepts/logocentric.html
 
 
 
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