Logocentrism

Conceptual Overview and Discussion

Logocentrism, as it is critiqued in the philosophical work of Derrida, refers to the dominant tendency in Western texts to privilege the rational or the laws of reason in its discourses. Robert Cooper explains that a primary structural characteristic of logocentric texts is to be found in the “fixed center” of the text that serves to redirect the reader away from any potentially radical or unexpected readings. The center of a logocentric text is stabilized by reason and rational truth, and only one reading, a reading that most closely relates to the intention of the original author, is allowed. Writing is viewed as an imperfect outlet for transmitting the thoughts of the author through space and time, and the logocentric text is designed with the belief that the reader can somehow be kept in line. Derrida rejects the possibility of a logocentric text that is immune from multiple readings, regardless of the intention of the author, and sets out to upset the assumed stability of a text through his philosophical project of deconstruction.

Derrida and others who embrace deconstruction are by no means alone in their efforts to disrupt and upset Western logocentric tendencies. This philosophical project is shared by pragmatists and postmodernists, among others. Those seeking to unseat the logocentric bias in Western thought bemoan the dominance of logocentrism since Plato usurped the privileged position of the poet and replaced it with the philosopher. Western thinking was forever altered, and deconstructionists, pragmatists, and postmodernists argue that a finer balance needs to be struck.

One technique with which Derrida upsets the rational center of logocentric texts is through deconstructing the foundation of binary oppositions that often form the core of logocentric thinking. In a logocentric text, objective binary opposition is assumed possible because of the belief that each item in the opposition is a distinct and self-sufficient entity. It is assumed that each item in the pairing is in no way influenced or contaminated by the other. Through these assumptions logocentric texts can safely privilege one side of the opposition over the other. To illustrate, consider one of the most basic logocentric oppositions: the privileging of thought over speech. In a logocentric text, thoughts and speech are assumed to be absolutely distinct entities. Thought is primary, originating in the mind of the thinker, and speech is secondary, created solely for the purpose of transmitting thought. Logocentrism views thinking as the ideal human activity, whereas speech is simply an imperfect vehicle with which we fallible humans are stuck for transmitting our thoughts to the outside world. Consider, too, the next level of the hierarchy, where the spoken word is viewed as superior to the written word. Although speech may be secondary to thinking, it is still far preferred to the written word, for writing is nothing more than the best way to ensure that our speech can traverse space and time.

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