The Hindu Business Line : Derrida's derring-do

ALTHOUGH Jacques Derrida (who recently died) is hailed by Western scholars for having performed a philosophical derring-do by propounding his theory of deconstruction, the fascination for the mysteries of words is as old as civilisation itself.

Few of Derrida's admirers may know that India's sages and savants, as also grammarians and logicians, have not only given to the world a rich and incandescent corpus of writings on abstruse philosophical topics but delved into the recesses, interstices and intricacies of words, and the myriad meanings they are capable of assuming in different texts, contexts and sequences. That was why they elevated words to the status of the Supreme Brahman Himself.

That is why, even today, the subtlety, depth and brilliance of the analysis of the meaning and purpose of life contained in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita or the profound implications and nuances of the different schools of philosophy as expounded by Sankara, Madhva and Ramanuja cast a magical spell on scholars and students alike.

In the Western world, philosophical quests and studies are comparatively of recent origin, and largely unfamiliar with the diversity and complexity of expositions in the literatures of ancient Eastern civilisations.

There are in general two distinctive features of the Western approach to philosophy: One is its total lack of interest in the illuminating concepts and theories that have abounded in the Orient. The many books on the history of philosophy written by Western authors deal at best cursorily with the contributions of the great thinkers of the East, particularly India

The other is its propensity to spawn a number of "isms" dominating as the flavour of a few years.

Thus, positivism, empiricism, rationalism, materialism, existentialism and so on have all had their day, only to fade away after causing a momentary flutter.

Derrida's deconstruction simply means that words are not what they seem or mean, you may not really mean what you think, say or write, and there is no finality in understanding the sense conveyed by any string of words — including what you are just now reading — as they are like signposts pointing in multiple directions for the same destination. One can be sure it too will pass, if it has not already!

B. S. Raghavan

More Stories on : People | Offhand | Lifestyle

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Save the cotton

Significance of China's economy to global growth

Mid-term appraisal of Plan targets — An opportunity for experts to get real

No advantage, global investing

Petro-product prices — Soft-pedalling can hurt govt hard

Getting the cream for civil services

Derrida's derring-do

Affable Ambassador

Planning Commission