Jacques Derrida's Deconstruction: Theory, Method and Its Application in Text and Discourse Studies

Abstract

This article examines Jacques Derrida's deconstruction theory as a critical approach to understanding text, language, and reality. Deconstruction emerged as a response to the Western philosophical tradition that emphasizes certainty, unity, and absolute truth a tendency that Derrida referred to as logocentrism and the metaphysics of presence. This study aims to describe the theoretical background of deconstruction, explain its concepts and principles, elaborate on the deconstructive reading method, and illustrate its application in text and discourse studies. This study employs a library research approach with a descriptive-analytical method. The findings indicate that deconstruction is grounded in a critique of logocentrism, binary opposition, and the metaphysics of presence in Western philosophy. Its core principles include the instability of meaning, rejection of binary hierarchies, and the concept of différance as both deferral and difference of meaning. The deconstructive reading method involves identifying binary oppositions, reversing hierarchies, exposing internal contradictions, tracing the trace of meaning, and opening new possibilities of interpretation. In text and discourse studies, deconstruction is used to uncover hidden meanings, power relations embedded in language, and to foster critical thinking in educational contexts. Deconstruction, therefore, functions not only as a method of textual analysis but also as a mode of critical thinking relevant to the development of contemporary knowledge.