Of Grammatology established Jacques Derrida as a major figure in contemporary philosophy and introduced both différance and deconstruction. This work includes two key early essays by Derrida: “The Violence of the Letter: From Levi-Strauss to Rousseau” and “From/Of the Supplement to the Source: The Theory of Writing.” Together, these essays deconstruct the speech/writing dichotomy and challenge linguistics—and the notion of meaning itself—at its foundational core.

In “The Violence of the Letter,” Derrida argues that while writing has traditionally been considered secondary to speech—which is assumed to hold primacy in their relationship—this assumption ultimately leads thinkers from Levi-Strauss to Rousseau astray, revealing the instability of the speech-writing hierarchy. By deconstructing this binary, Derrida demonstrates that writing is not merely a supplement to speech; rather, it plays an essential role in the constitution of meaning itself. This challenges the traditional logocentric view and exposes the inherent "violence" in privileging speech over writing.1

In the second essay, “From/Of the Supplement to the Source,” Derrida develops his now-famous critique of Saussure’s concept of the "sign" and begins formulating the concept of différance, a theme he continues in Writing and Difference. Derrida challenges Saussure's structuralist framework by showing that the meaning of signs is always deferred and defined by their differences from other signs, rather than by any inherent, fixed essence. This marks the beginning of post-structuralism, and lays the philosophical groundwork for postmodernism by destabilizing the notion of fixed meanings and questioning the idea of a singular, unchanging source of truth.

Derrida’s post-structuralism is one of several theories encompassed within postmodernism, a movement characterized by skepticism towards grand metanarratives and ideologies, the interrogation of objective truths, and an emphasis on the relative and constructed nature of knowledge, reality, and identity. Key figures alongside Derrida include Jean-François Lyotard, known for his work on the 'incredulity towards meta-narratives' in "The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge" (1979); Michel Foucault, who examined the interplay between power, knowledge, and discourse; and Jean Baudrillard, famous for his analyses of simulation and hyperreality. Together, these thinkers and others contributed to the development and articulation of postmodernist ideas.

Initially, Derrida names this new approach to knowledge and meaning-making 'grammatology,' but it was deconstruction that stuck as the most recognizable name for this post-structuralist approach. Derrida's concept of "deconstruction" has its roots in Martin Heidegger's use of the term "Destruktion" referring to the process of going back through to the origin of Western thought, and unearthing the roots of ontological concepts to reveal their contingent foundations. Heidegger is especially interested in the concept of Being (*ontos *in Attic Greek, the root for our term “ontology,” the study of being(s) ). See my “Heidegger In A Tiny Nutshell” for more on this story.

Derrida took this concept and, through adaptation and expansion, it evolved into what we now recognize as 'deconstruction,' which zeros in on the internal dynamics of texts and deconstructing binary oppositions, rather than just tearing down traditions. Thus, deconstruction is both a translation and a transformation of Heidegger's 'Destruktion.' The term has since passed into French and English with Derrida's unique connotations attached to it.

Deconstruction involves the critical analysis of texts to reveal the inherent contradictions and instabilities within them. It challenges the traditional binary oppositions that govern western thought. What appear to be simple binary oppositions are never neutral. One term is always given precedence over the other. Moreover, the dominant term is established as the norm (or as natural) through cultural and linguistic practices.

For example, the concept of woman is constructed in opposition to the concept of man, to prop-up his rationality and strength, and healthy masculine bodies are established and maintained as a norm through social and political forces. Deconstruction seeks to show that this hierarchy is constructed, not inherent, and that the supposed binary is actually a “difference of the same,” the One, used to obliterate true otherness.

In Heidegger's philosophy, "obliterate" is used to describe the process by which certain aspects of existence or meaning are concealed or erased within traditional metaphysical thinking. This obliteration occurs as certain dominant interpretations or concepts overshadow others, effectively erasing alternative perspectives or meanings, and contributing to the forgetfulness of being. In simple terms, when you obliterate a thing, you not only forget it, but you forget that you forgot it. The obliteration of otherness, of authentic difference, lays at the heart of Western metaphysics where it cannot be known directly, but only felt indirectly through its effects.

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This first English offering of Derrida’s essays includes Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s original translation as well as her truly helpful and insightful introduction to Derrida’s work. The book is worth it’s price for this introduction alone. Readers already interested in linguistics and writing will find this work difficult but well worth their efforts. It helps to have just read the works to which Derrida refers in his text, since he assumes the reader will know these works beforehand and doesn’t hold the readers hand. Derrida’s style is famously difficult, and for some it will be cumbersome while others will revel in the poetry of his prose.

Finally, we have chosen this work to be in our top works of philosophy because it is Derrida’s first major work and it remains a very important work, but readers more interested in the History of Philosophy (as opposed to linguistics, theories of writing, and Saussure) might find it more productive to begin with Dissemination or *The Margins of Philosophy, *both good beginning points for Derrida’s earlier works.

To be continued…

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