The Culture of “No,” Part 3: No Meaning

The Culture of “No,” Part 3: No Meaning
Friday, July 31, 2020 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Our culture insists that there is no real meaning. More specifically, that words possess no genuine meaning. That might seem odd to many of us. How could one even understand these first couple of sentences if words have no real meaning? Nevertheless, that is what many in our culture hold.

The belief that words have no specific meaning has been spreading now for over 50 years. While at one time the belief was confined to the “ivory towers,” that belief has long since entered our popular culture. Any word (a symbol) is just a sign of another symbol (word). Regardless of how far back one goes, a word remains just a sign of another symbol. Thus, meaning is not based on anything concrete, meaning has no foundation.

In terms of books, authorial intent does not exist. Whatever subjective meaning that might exist is determined strictly by the reader. In addition, whatever meaning might be found is generally not found in the words themselves, but rather in the “white spaces” between the words. Once what was written has been “deconstructed” (the technical term) it often turns out that the meaning of the text is the direct opposite of what the author likely intended. Thus, for the past several decades the historical Western literature has been under attack, and is now “known” to be anti-feminist, European colonialist, misogynist, and so forth (that these philosophical beliefs emerged primarily in France and the United States seems to be besides the point).

But does the view hold up? One philosopher at one point dared to contradict Derrida (the leading advocate of these views). Derrida responded to the roughly fifteen page article by writing an almost 100 page book, ridiculing his opponent. One must deconstruct Western literature, but one must NEVER deconstruct the writings of the deconstructionists. Contrary to all the others, their books must be read as though they mean exactly what they say. I do wonder what would have happened had I been able to take a class from Derrida (he taught at UC Irvine, among other places), and after a lecture on how meaning is found in the “white spaces” been able to ask a question along the lines of, “So you’re saying that you wish the sky was orange marmalade instead of green striped with essence of strawberry?” If meaning is found strictly by the reader and in the white spaces between the words, that interpretation is as valid as any other.

Life desn’t work that way. For example, if you’re assembling a toy for your daughter’s birthday, the only way to succeed is by following the instructions, instructions that mean exactly what they say. However, we, in our sinful state, prefer the opinions of the deconstructionists. By using deconstruction, we can dismiss anything the Scriptures appear to say that we don’t like, and it also gives us an excuse for justifying our behavior and actions. Nevertheless, following that process will not end well.

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