Jacques Derrida · Philosophy

Differance: The Trace and the Deferral of Meaning

Derrida&rsquo;s most famous coinage is a word you cannot hear: <em>differance</em>, spelled with an a. It names the double movement by which meaning is produced - signs mean only by <em>differing</em> from other signs, and any final, present meaning is endlessly <em>deferred</em>. There is no first word, no pure presence, only the play of traces.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that for Derrida, differance (with an a) names two things at once: that signs mean only through their differences from other signs, and that full presence of meaning is endlessly deferred along a chain of signs. Each sign carries the trace of others it is not. Explain why this means meaning is never fully…

Leads to Saussure.

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