“To pretend, I actually do the thing; I have therefore only pretended to pretend.” -Jacques Derrida
Just to refresh:
“The concept of writing in a world where the phoneticization of writing must dissimulate its own history as it is produced” (1689).
Derrida here is stating that the history of writing must be let go as it evolves and is spread. The phonetics must be disguised and covered over to allow for progression. This is in the theme that there is more to something that what it once was, there is potential for progression. However, there is a note that the concept is based on what has already been established. You need a base to go off of before you work forward. To work forward, there needs to be a basis to work from.
“The idea of science and the idea of writing- therefore also of the science of writing- is meaningful for us only in terms of an origin and within a world to which a certain concept of the sign (later I shall call it the concept of the sign) and a certain concept of the relationships between speech and writing, have already been assigned” (1690).
So does writing, rather, the science of writing only have weight if it is associated with a sign? Only if it means something to society? Can it not mean anything to an individual if it doesn’t mean anything to the public? There is only meaning if the meaning has already been established, so does that mean there is no room for progression? There is no room for new ideas?
Derrida says that words are contradictory. It’s all about the difference. That’s what is important.
Word Count: 281
Works Cited
Jacques Derrida in 1 Minute. Dir. Mark Fullmer. Perf. Mark Fullmer. YouTube. 10 July 2010. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQbWOXxag-0>.
Leitch, Vincent B. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. 2nd ed. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2010. Print.
Vidani, Peter. Derrida Schmerrida. Tumblr. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. <http://derridaschmerrida.tumblr.com/>.
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