20c 20th-century deconstruction derrida existentialism france french language linguistics literary-criticism meaning modern-philosophy non-fiction nonfiction phenomenology philosophy poststructuralism semiotics structuralism theory

In Speech and Phenomena, Jacques Derrida situates the philosophy of language in relation to logic and rhetoric, which have often been seen as irreconcilable criteria for the use and interpretations of signs. His critique of Husserl attacks the position that language is founded on logic rather than on rhetoric; instead, he claims, meaningful language is limited to expression because expression alone conveys sense. Derrida's larger project is to confront phenomenology with the tradition it has so often renounced--the tradition of Western metaphysics.