18. A Rationalist Critique of Deconstruction (Part I): What Deconstruction Is and Is Not

A Rationalist Critique of Deconstruction (Part 1) Deconstruction is a theory of language, literature, and literary criticism that became a controversial and popular fad in the American academy (1960-1980). Although of minor importance at the time, Jacques Derrida's philosophy now provides the groundwork for nearly all literary theory and cultural criticism in the American collegiate environment. Even where professors in the Humanities oppose its more extreme applications, the theory itself generally goes without serious criticism, in part due to revulsion regarding its sophistry. Nowadays, the theory stands at the root of campus culture wars, Leftist indoctrination, identity politics, racial disharmony, and socialist propaganda. The theory's opponents decry it as a "slum of philosophy," and its proponents utilize the theory to spread the message of Cultural Marxism. If we wish to understand not only why the theory succeeded, even despite its controversy, then we must understand exactly what Deconstruction "is." As I will argue, there were elements of the theory that were sound, even though the theory in its entirety is methodologically unsound. In Part I, I will be setting the scene for the rise of Deconstruction, prepping the groundwork for its refutation, and applying the basic tenets of Deconstruction and rationalism to some key principles of philosophy, epistemology, economics, and criticism in order to show where reason and deconstruction coincide and conflict. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/culture-anarchy/support