The relationship between thinking and being: scholastic linguistics and Jacques Derrida's

Abstract

Grammatology theory (science of writing) is directed at phonetics and Jacques Derrida hopes to overcome metaphysics. By returning to the semantic issues of the Middle Ages and the concept that traditional metaphysical content can be brought together into signs and sign theory can help to understand and interpret real ways of being, Derrida tries to reinterpret these ideas and reveal the movement of thought in metaphysics, although he is in doubt whether it will ever be possible to go beyond the methaphysics. Derrida refers to scholastic semantics, analyzes how possible the absolute objectivity of language is, looks into the relationship between voice and writing and emphasizes that in writing the voice is replaced by a sign. He notes the attempts of medieval theologians and philosophers to reveal the content of metaphysics on the basis of the concept of equivocation. To this end, a distinction is made between quod est and quo est modes, and a logical instrumentation is developed to transfer knowledge from one level to another. With the view to transcend Western ontology, Derrida refers to medieval logical linguistics by developing a theory of deconstruction with the destruction of “metaphysics of presence” and a philosophy of “différance”. Derrida’s decision illustrates the dependence of his thinking on the “metaphysics of presence” by raising the links between the sign and time (Here and Now). Emphasizing the differences between temporal and spatial attitudes, Derrida notes that this is important for the non-metaphysical conception of writing. The article employs the comparative-historiographical method and philosophical reflection and considers the relationship between scholastic linguistics and Derrida’s grammatology. To this end, the reflection on the general characteristics and properties of words and the equivocal and univocal features of words in scholastic linguistics and the question of sign in grammatology has been considered.