metaphysics of presence

Finally, all this harks back to his criticism of 'a sort of ethic of presence, an ethic of nostalgia for origins, an ethic of archaic and natural innocence, of a purity of presence and self-presence in speech' (Derrida, 1967b: 427 [292]).

is the deep-seated and misplaced illusion that a 'situation' and a presentation of that situation are somehow the same thing.

treating a presentation as a situation. . . 'The complexities of presentation should remove any suspicion of a metaphysics of presence attached to the notion of a sentence. A sentence is never simply present (to itself) split on the one hand between presentation and the universe presented (situation), a sentence is also, constitutively, linked to other sentences. The illusion of seizing the event of a sentence in any or all of its instances is an illusion created retrospectively, by the following sentence: 'metaphysical illusion would consist in treating a presentation as a situation' (Bennington Writing the Event 130).

is the idea that, just as the material presence of the object prevents language from fully penetrating and subjecting it so that some opacity will always remain, so by forcing what is to be known into our linguistic molds we prevent what is from showing itself to us as it is.

Just as the material presence of the object prevents language from fully penetrating and subjecting it so that some opacity will always remain, so by forcing what is to be known into our linguistic molds we prevent what is from showing itself to us as it is. Heidegger's term 'earth' points towards the irreducible opacity which attends like a shadow all our knowledge of the real. (Harries 1977: 506)

is the prevailing privileging of identity or of that which is over an interest in difference.

Instead, Derrida wants to reveal that every so-called 'present', or 'now' point, is always already compromised by a trace, or a residue of a previous experience, that precludes us ever being in a self-contained 'now' moment (SP 68). Phenomenology is hence envisaged as nostalgically seeking the impossible: that is, coinciding with oneself in an immediate and pre-reflective spontaneity. Following this refutation of Husserlian temporality, Derrida remarks that 'in the last analysis, what is at stake is. . . the privilege of the actual present, the now' (SP 62-3).

is the problematic privileging of immediate access to meaning in western philosophy.

holds that the entire history of Western philosophy and its language and traditions has emphasized the desire for immediate access to meaning, and thus built a metaphysics or ontotheology around the privileging of presence over absence. Deconstructive thinkers, like Derrida, describe their task as the questioning or deconstruction of this metaphysical tendency in philosophy' (wikipedia)

is problematic because presence is sure to exclude possibility, for possibility is something in the future, something that is not yet present and may never be present, and yet is not nothing.

A possibility is something in the future, something that is not yet present and may never be present. However, we would hardly want to say that a possibility is nothing, since surely we are considering something when we consider possibilities.

is problematic because presence is sure to exclude the past, for the past is not present, but if it were nothing whatsoever, it would make no sense for us to describe it, argue about it, reject it or long for it.

Similarly, we remember and investigate the past. The past is not present either. But if it were nothing whatsoever, it would make no sense for us to describe it, argue about it, reject it or long for it.

is to try, by means of philosophy, science or technology, to achieve complete insight into things and thereby gain complete control over them.

He does, however, believe that we must call into question the metaphysics of presence - for this tradition has pernicious consequences. It dulls us to the depth of experience and restricts us to impoverished ways of thinking and acting. In particular, if we identify Being with presence, we can become obsessed with getting beings to present themselves to us perfectly and in a definitive way- with representing beings accurately and effectively. We try, by means of philosophy, science or technology, to achieve complete insight into things and thereby gain complete control over them.

metaphysics of presence, n.Definitions

metaphysics of presence