36th Annual Student Research Conference
Deconstruction and Sublation: Dialectics Under Erasure
Guthrie L. Stroh
Dr. Natalie Alexander, Faculty Mentor
Jacques Derrida, a French post-structuralist philosopher, spent his career formulating a method of analysis called deconstruction. Derrida applied this critique to the work of structuralist thinkers, demonstrating how all philosophical thinking in the Western tradition is bound to ground its conditions of possibility on precisely that which makes it impossible. This would spell the end of teleological progression and ‘closed’ systems of thought. One such teleological system is dialectics, which describes the ‘evolution’ of an idea through conflicts arising from its inherent contradictions. Dialectics have a long history of usefulness to the analysis of socio-political systems. Since I believe dialectics are still a viable strategy in a post-Derridean age, this presentation will seek to demonstrate how deconstruction and dialectics are not as mutually exclusive as they may seem. Ultimately, Derrida will be shown to be a dialectical thinker himself, introducing the possibility of sublation into a new paradigm of thought.
Keywords: Philosophy, Derrida, Deconstruction, Dialectics, Post-Structuralism, Sublation
Topic(s):PHRE Senior Seminar
Philosophy & Religion
Linguistics
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 105-5
Location: SUB 3201
Time: 9:30