Understanding Deconstruction

Who is primarily associated with the development of deconstruction?

• Michel Foucault

• Jacques Derrida

• Sigmund Freud

• Jean-Paul Sartre

What is a key characteristic of deconstruction according to its practitioners?

• It is a simple form of textual analysis.

• It is a fixed set of propositions.

• It relies on external evaluative criteria.

• It is an extreme form of imminent critique.

Which philosopher's ideas are traced as an influence on deconstruction?

• John Locke

• Karl Marx

• Immanuel Kant

• Friedrich Nietzsche

What does Derrida's concept of 'difference' imply about language?

• Language has a clear origin and end.

• Meaning is always fixed and stable.

• Language and meaning are always deferred.

• Language is independent of context.

What does Derrida argue about the relationship between speech and writing?

• Speech is superior to writing.

• Writing is a supplement to speech.

• Speech and writing are identical.

• Writing precedes speech.

How does deconstruction view binary oppositions?

• As stable and unchangeable.

• As irrelevant to textual analysis.

• As the foundation of all meaning.

• As inherently unstable and reversible.

What does deconstruction aim to reveal about philosophical texts?

• What they cannot describe.

• Their logical consistency.

• Their aesthetic value.

• Their historical accuracy.

What is the effect of deconstruction's emphasis on 'difference'?

• It stabilizes meaning.

• It creates a fixed interpretation.

• It unsettles binary oppositions.

• It simplifies textual analysis.

What criticism does Foucault have regarding deconstruction?

• It simplifies complex ideas.

• It gives the master a limitless sovereignty.

• It lacks any theoretical basis.

• It is too focused on historical context.

What is a common criticism of deconstruction?

• It is universally accepted.

• It resembles a form of performance art.

• It lacks any practical application.

• It is too simplistic.