Poststructuralism and Deconstruction

by Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, and Roland Barthes

Poststructuralism and Deconstruction (1960-1980s)

In the third stage, developed by Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, and Roland Barthes, language began to be seen not as a neutral means of description but as an active factor in constructing social and cultural structures. Derrida, in his work Of Grammatology (1967), argued:

“There is nothing outside the text.”

Poststructuralists criticized the idea of a fixed connection between words and reality, emphasizing the multiplicity of interpretations and meanings that are formed through language. In their view, language is not only a means of conveying meanings but also a tool that actively creates and transforms reality.

poststructuralism deconstruction language philosophy