the sense of a possibly ungrounded rumor or tale. In effect,
Derrida turns the logos into a mythos, albeit a powerful, all-
pervasive one.
According to Derrida the dominance of reason, of the
logos, is linked to the archetypally masculine will to control
society (phallogocentrismis one of Derrida’s many coinages).
Logocentrism also emphasizes the notion that thoughts can be
accurately conveyed by speech, and that the task of writing is
to serve speech by representing it faithfully. The logocentrist
believes that both words and thought, if they are clear and sen-
sible, offer a transparent view of reality.
A logocentrist believes that thought, and therefore the
world, is self-verifying, capable of establishing and securing it-
self. The logocentrist contends that we may be confused at
times, muddled or fantastic in our thinking, but that these
moments are aberrations. We really define and justify our-
selves by our conscious, sensible thoughts, the ones we can ar-
ticulate clearly to ourselves. Arguments should be lucid and
logical: in this way they are most persuasive, and most true.
Rhetorical tricks and sly efforts to hoodwink an audience get
in the way of truth. Things make sense to the degree that they
reflect, or are rooted in, reality.
These beliefs form the credo of the commonsensical lo-
gocentrist. We cannot avoid going through some part of life as
this simple character. But Derrida argues that logocentrism
can be proven false. Meaning, he asserts, is generated by
différance; not, as we commonly think, by the connection be-
tween language or thought and the “real world.” (For Derrida,
there is no such place.)
First revealed to the world in the essay “Différance”
( 1968 ), Derrida’s invented word incorporates two meanings
implied by the French verb différer:“to differ” and “to defer,”
32 From Algeria to the École Normale