Filozofska istraživanja, Vol. 29 No. 3, 2009.
Original scientific paper
Sign, Meaning, and Proper Name: Controversial Places in Derrida’s Discourse
Kristina Peternai Andrić
orcid.org/0000-0002-7470-353X
; Josip Juraj Strossmayer University, Faculty of Philosophy, Osijek, Hrvatska
Abstract
In his numerous works the French philosopher Jacques Derrida deconstructed the idea of a stable structure of language by affirming that words have no general meanings and that they do not refer to objects which would possess some essential qualities; according to him, no sign can once and for all be linked with some precise description or content. However, paradoxically, Derrida questions the accuracy of these statements when speaking about the category of proper names. On several occasions he presents such names as if they were an inner essence of the subject, treating them as if they implied fixed and precise descriptions/contents, or in other words defining them as an immutable, independent-of-context sign capable of delivering an unambiguous message to a recipient. Thus the question of proper names reveals itself as being an aporic question for Derrida.
Keywords
proper name; sign; meaning; Jacques Derrida
Hrčak ID:
46140
URI
Publication date:
22.10.2009.
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