Sign, Meaning, and Proper Name: Controversial Places in Derrida’s Discourse Cover Image

Znak, značenje i vlastito ime: kontroverzna mjesta u Derridaovom diskurzu
Sign, Meaning, and Proper Name: Controversial Places in Derrida’s Discourse

Author(s): Kristina Peternai Andrić
Subject(s): Philosophy
Published by: Hrvatsko Filozofsko Društvo
Keywords: proper name; sign; meaning; Jacques Derrida

Summary/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.

  • Issue Year: 29/2009
  • Issue No: 03/115
  • Page Range: 525-541
  • Page Count: 17
  • Language: Croatian