Political Science 2231E Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Logocentrism, Foundationalism, James Der Derian
11 Dec 2014
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Names: michel foucault / jacques derrida (french philosophers) Response to failures of western leftist failures & socialist failures under ussr. Challenge enlightenment (what is this?: challenge assumptions of dominant and marxist approaches, argued against these enlightenment assumptions: Reality can be understood through reason (logocentrism) Separation between observer and what is observed/known. Claims of western knowledge to being superior -- progressive, advanced & civilized. Claims of western knowledge being rooted in firm foundations, unbiased approaches, and progressive accumulation of knowledge (phonocentric = authoritative voice) "meta-narratives": big, continuous "stories" of humanity unfolding (teleology) Power is productive = creates limits and constraints; creates our categories for understanding. Power is created by discourses: representational practices creating meaning, identities, social relations, legitimate political & economic relations. Modes of representations: systems of representing ideas and connecting them to other ideas (onomasiologically) Reality does exist, but reality cannot exist for humans outside of language and representation (socially constructed in words & sounds)
