Derrida and Seng-Zhao : linguistic and philosophical deconstructions
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Philosophy East & West
Publication Date
7-1-1993
Volume
43
Issue
3
First Page
389
Last Page
404
Publisher
University of Hawai'i Press
Abstract
Contemporary Western deconstructive philosophy and Madhyamika Buddhism are, historically and geographically, far apart from each other. One grew out of the "beyond-thinking" of the French philosopher Jacques Derrida around the late 1960s. The other was founded by the Indian thinker Nagarjuna (ca. 100-200) and established in China by Seng-zhao (374-414), and flourished in Korea from the sixth to the fifteenth century and in Japan from the seventh to the twelfth century.' However, there exist many important parallels in method, strategy, and rationale between these two philosophical traditions. Recently, a number of scholars have discovered significant parallels in the Derridean negation and the Madhyamika prasariga (reductio ad absurdum), and carefully compared the logic of negativity at work in both traditions.2 Here, we will turn our attention to the hitherto unexplored parallels in Derridean and Madhyamika deconstructive use of language.3 First, we will examine how Derrida and Seng-zhao, the founder of Chinese Madhyamika, perform lexical-syntactical deconstructions in their philosophical writings.4 Then, we will consider how Derrida and Seng-zhao use their lexical-syntactical deconstructions to demonstrate the impossibility of claiming ontological- theological (hereafter ontotheological) essence in and/or through language, and how they proceed to double-negate Name-reifying and Matter-reifying ontotheologies in their respective traditions. Lastly, we will observe how Derrida and Seng-zhao theorize about their double negation in similar terms of neither/nor but pursue their deconstructive enterprises along different paths.
DOI
10.2307/1399576
Print ISSN
00318221
E-ISSN
15291898
Publisher Statement
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Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Cai, Z. (1993). Derrida and Seng-Zhao: Linguistic and philosophical deconstructions. Philosophy East & West, 43(3), 389-404. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1399576