Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A philosophical movement and theory of literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity, and truth; asserts that words can only refer to other words; and attempts to demonstrate how statements about any text subvert their own meanings.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The undoing of what has been constructed or done.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A philosophical theory of criticism (usually of literature or film) that seeks to expose deep-seated contradictions in a work by delving below its surface meaning. This method questions the ability of language to represent a fixed reality, and proposes that a text has no stable meaning because words only refer to other words, that metaphysical or ethnocentric assumptions about the meaning of words must be questioned, and words may be redefined in new contexts and new, equally valid and even contradictory meanings may be found. Such new interpretations may be based on the philosophical, political, or social implications of the words of a text, rather than solely on attempts to determine the author's intentions.
- noun the process of criticising or interpreting a text by the method of
deconstruction{1} .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun a
philosophical theory oftextual criticism ; a form ofcritical analysis - noun The
destroying or taking apart of an object;disassembly .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a philosophical theory of criticism (usually of literature or film) that seeks to expose deep-seated contradictions in a work by delving below its surface meaning
Etymologies
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Examples
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What exactly does the word deconstruction mean to you?
The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed PAULA CITRON 2011
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At least we are getting a clear statement of facts and possibilites from one direction knowing full well that the deconstruction is about to begin from the other side.
Feinstein suggests full Senate could consider Kagan by Aug. 1 2010
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The nebulous airy-fairy definition of the word deconstruction is designed to let people think it is noble and educated and intelligent to deconstruct something.
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Therefore, to refer to the changes in the fashion universe as "deconstruction" is appropriate; it has yielded up postmodern clothing.
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I'm gong to miss the bridge, but watching the process of deconstruction is fascinating, and yes, strangely beautiful
"You've gotta have a scheme, you've gotta have a plan..." greygirlbeast 2010
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Moore's superhero deconstruction is deeper than good guy vs. bad guy.
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In their favor, the deconstructionists definition of deconstruction is actually true: it is a movement away from reality and a rebellion against truth.
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In their favor, the deconstructionists definition of deconstruction is actually true: it is a movement away from reality and a rebellion against truth.
Archive 2007-08-01 2007
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One of my favorite sources for political news deconstruction is signing off.
Boing Boing: January 16, 2005 - January 22, 2005 Archives 2005
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If the Profession de foi compels "us to choose while destroying the foundation of any choice," understanding it cannot merely be a question of identifying the elements of the text that do not fit in perfectly with the rest, as deconstruction is frequently said to do.
whichbe commented on the word deconstruction
A philosophical movement and theory of literary criticism that questions traditional assumptions about certainty, identity, and truth; asserts that words can only refer to other words; and attempts to demonstrate how statements about any text subvert their own meanings: “In deconstruction, the critic claims there is no meaning to be found in the actual text, but only in the various, often mutually irreconcilable, ‘virtual texts’ constructed by readers in their search for meaning�? (Rebecca Goldstein).
December 2, 2008
qroqqa commented on the word deconstruction
Hum. I've just encountered this word referring to what workers did to a building at the World Trade Center site. I'm tempted to leave it in for its disturbing Baudrillardian quality, but I'm afraid duty requires me to substitute something more prosaic. Dismantling, perhaps.
April 3, 2009
rolig commented on the word deconstruction
I often come across the same problem in my editing. One of the people I work with (a Slovene artist) occasionally will refer to to deconstructing buildings, when what she means is pulling them down. I try to explain that the only way to deconstruct a building is to theorize about it (or perhaps build a new construction that in some way analyzes, questions and exposes the underlying structure of the first building). The problem becomes more interesting because my colleague also discusses in her work the deconstruction of modernism, and here, of course, she is talking about deconstruction.
April 3, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word deconstruction
It seems like in both usages, "dismantle" would work pretty well.
April 3, 2009
bilby commented on the word deconstruction
Disassemble.
April 4, 2009
stephanieconn commented on the word deconstruction
"It seems like in both usages, "dismantle" would work pretty well. "
But @Chained_Bear, no... in the Derridean sense, 'deconstruction' implies not a taking-apart but a proving of elements of an argument to be inherently contradictory or false.
Similarly, as @rolig mentions, taking a house apart is dis-assembling, not deconstructing.
June 14, 2011