Karan Rai

The year of 2020 is one of the devastating years we all have faced. It brought forth the unforeseen situations and we all are familiar to it. Amid all these changes one crucial pattern or sometimes we might call it an anti-pattern is innately pervading. This notion can be identified by the theoretical process of “deconstruction”. The pervasive theory of deconstruction is challenging contextual theory, which is un-unified with consistent rules. It holds no rigid ground and most of all challenges the notion of established human-self. Derrida along with Paul De Man established this theory in the 60s, developed it in 70s, and flourished it during 80s, and no doubt its peak can be unfolded and envisioned in the year 2020.

Derrida himself has insisted from time to time, to enunciate its unusual phenomenon by claiming it as a mode rather than theory. Deconstruction does not have any amenable static definition, and its later theorists propound it as “non-definition itself to be its definition”. Now, one might prominently question, how deconstruction appears to be inherently relative to social changes of 2020?  For this, there are various reasons, but firstly let us reflect on a brief and sketchy foundation of deconstruction.

The words and concepts of deconstruction are eminently formulated from the fundamental operation of “logo-centrism”, which seems to be initially originated from, Greek thinker “Heraclitus” and philosopher “Philo”. The very word “logos” self revels the meaning “Words of God”, spoken for “rational order of creation itself” therefore if we incline to Saussurean model “logos” holds equal efficacy for “signifier” and the “signified”. So, Logos authorizes the universal view that embodies whole theological, philosophical, social, religious and political order.

Now, moving ahead, what happens if the “logos” is removed from the picture? Now, the whole system is destabilized. In the model of “SIGN”, the signified regresses infinitely back to signifier forming an endless chain, searching for ultimate i.e. Logos. This phenomenon of regression is also characterized as “logo-centrism”.

These notions were noted out by Plato as “forms” in his book “Republic”. It is from this world of forms, through which artists effectively spurts the meaning and depicts it out to the apparent world. These depictions are done through the means of music, dance, sculpture or any other art form and their essence are determined through the world of forms. Later this theory is rejected by his student Aristotle, and adhere it to be an imitative process from real-world rather than the world of forms, prominently exhibiting theory of “Foundational Substance”.

While there are innumerous philosophical and contextual theories, Hegel’s tentatively modern philosophy of “Absolute Idea” is regarded most practical under this theoretical frame. His salient proposition is constrained to the theory of “absolute idea”, that proposes, the sense of human’s identity, being and reason along with consciousness are measured by its intimate relation to the external factors. The “identity” of “being” in the world is absolute in the measure of “consciousness” and “perception” of the world with reason and independence. But later in the 19th century, this idea gave an increasingly complex form of diversity.

Later, the pattern of thought and society seems to alter in large scale since the 19th century, after the diversity proposed by Hegel, the political philosophy saw two major divisions which were pointed out by Marx as “Proletariats” and “Bourgeois”. This proposition brought rapid and abrupt changes in the social order along with establishment of the left and right-winged politics. The oppressors and dictators all across continents were now questioned and removed from power.

The conventional thought of the centre was removed and margins were pushed to the centre. Another influential thinker, through the book, “On The Origin of Species” challenged the established and customary thought about the origin of a human being. It proposed the origin of human from “evolutionary pattern” and truth constructed through “Principle of natural selection” rather than the process formulated by “God” or, post-proposed “Logos”. The truth perceived by the general populace was now deconstructed from “God” to “god”. By the end of the 19th century, Freudian and Nietzchean Model of thought too, destabilized the Logos. In Freudian psychoanalysis, the god was challenged by shifting its image from “ideal and superior form” to “Oedipus and Electra complex”. The truth perceived by a human was no longer generated by ideal form, but by a procession of the mental activity, charged by “Oedipus and Electra Complex”. In the very end of the 19th century, the esteemed philosophy of existentialism of Nietzchean notion, lead the world to witness “End of God”. Though his Philosophy was not recognized during his lifetime he proclaimed “God is Dead”, which challenged the conventional heart of western metaphysics, which sagaciously means to refuse God, to refuse fix meaning, to refuse fix centre, to refuse fix reason, to refuse fix science and most of all to refuse fix law. Later in the early 20th century, the Saussurean model developed binary representation of thought through these changes.

Similar changes were engrossed through scientific progression too; Nicolas Copernicus distorted the comprehension of the world from “Geo-centric” to “Heliocentric”. The deconstruction of traditional and rooted biased beliefs was now gradually carried out. Later in these figure, Galileo brought evidence of extraterrestrial planets through invention of telescope, which lead the Copernican theory to be believed veraciously. The traditional world view was distorted, leading the world closer to the truth. Later in the 17th century, Newtonian philosophy of gravitation was emphasized and was held bona-fide for nearly 300 years, until Einstein’s theory distorted it in 1920s. Einstein’s postulation of “General and Special relativity” postulated that gravitational theory fails to cooperate in quantum level. And stunningly in the same decade the world war was carried out, leaving people to move further away from god, leading world to make human-centered rather than god-centered. Later in 50s, Heisenberg’s “uncertainty principle” proposed the uncertainty of momentum and location of atom at same time. With these changes, the development of “deconstruction” was rapidly pacing.

Amid all these rebounding of literary and scientific facts, Michel Foucault originated the theory of “new historicism”, claiming that the whole of the history was developed from aristocratic perspective. Noam Chomsky along with him claimed the “universal grammar” proposing the “perspective”, “descriptive” and “pedagogical” facts.

Now, advancing to Derrida’s conception in late 60s, he emphasized “New-Humanism”, and determined the “loss of centre” leading world to post-modernism, which delved the whole system into the formation of new world. The peak of this thought can be perceived through various apparent examples in year 2020.

Taking body-language for an instance, the long construction of habitual costume of “hand-shake” since 3rd century was consistently directed to be ceased all over the world, at the beginning of 2020,that implies whole cultural history to be deconstructed within a month. Later the construction of elbow-shake was formed which found its replacement, implying, the deconstruction again to be deconstructed creating chain formation due to “differance”.

Likewise, the modern era after the 20s brought the technological contributions, this phenomenon was often cited extremely mechanical and too threatening to human existence, but the technological advancements have exhibited the profitable aspects for human themselves in 2020s global lockdown. This indicates that the traditional thought is rigorously deconstructed in 2020s lockdown. Later again, this too is contradicted, as the overflow of unreliable medias proliferated in a short period, which creates a symbolical meaning that formed unending chains of differance. Or, change in Logos.

Cantering more to other illustrations, pride and fame were considered as the achievement in the new world, later the world witnessed how meaningless the fame is, and how our illusions of pride and fame are innately pointless. Moreover, the government across the world has been established to mobilize the civilians since the origin of human civilization. Later the mass protests of the youth involvement all across the world saw that civilians conversely controlling the government. The scenario was conversely altered. But, again the mobilization of military force in most of nations (U.S, Turkey, Nepal, Mexico etc.) across the globe was applied, which gradually brought back the domination of government. This phenomenon of the alteration in power brought chain formation in allocation of Logos.

Similarly, the predominant thought was established in society that, humans are at the centre of controlling global ecology. It was assumed that humans controlled the nature and natural habitat, this accredited conveniently that even species of micro-organism were regulated by humans. But the virus outbreak at the beginning of 2020, clearly converses the position of the human in the world. It astonishingly alters the human place, existence and faith to be controlled by microbes, which captivated humans within a single room. This deconstructs the whole existence, faith and position of humans on earth. The ambitions, glories, and aspirations of human life are held utterly absurd by this scenario of 2020. But, later the rise of vaccine race was proposed, which again implies the alteration in the model. These indispensably rebounding changes reforms an endless chain of differance.

So, this process of “no centre and no margin”, “no origin and no end” galvanizes open-interpretations and discourse, replicating equal value to all of society. This destruction of logo-centrism claims everything to be an absence of origin and end. Derrida too during this theorization propounded himself as “species of non-species”, claiming himself as “formless being”, ultimately deconstructing conventional ways of thinking as a “human-self”, with “no origin and no end”. It is as similar to postulation that “time is an illusion” with no past, no present and no future, which implies “no integration and no division”, ultimately leading the world of “no war” and “non-conflict” resolutions.