Jan 21, 2013
Jacque Derrida

Differ()nce
Italics for clarification
Tone of voice odd from what we've read thus far
The letter speaking of "a"
 what is being played with here? "a" letter as when used as an article, letter "a" as in the intial in alphabet
 "I shall speak, therefore, of a letter"
 argument against Sausoure
draw upon differ()nce, which one? with an "a" or an "e"? can you tell difference?
 the one with "a" is less accepted or conventional
 "a" is like a "beginning." "e" not a "point of origin?" why is point of origin important?
 want bring issue origin
 could typos interfere with understanding of argument?
a meta-discourse: speaking about speaking
Problems lies in determining the value of "arkhe"
 come up with philosophical take that governs and supports arkhe
Language is not representation of speech, rather language is a representation of writing*
 how do you dispel ambiguity of the "wordplay" when speaking?
Examine the prefix of "differ()nce": differ- to put off/delay, detour, defer* OR to be asimilar, not identical
 introduces the element of time for first meaning
 for second, how do we access our differences? mostly visually so the element of space is in play.
  need at least two distinct figures in space to start accessment
 co-implication of time and space
 differ has two implicit meanings
 context depends which is used
the nature of writing has the act of deferral*
 what is the impetus of writing?
 intention of reading and recollection
 contingent upon the possiblity of being read later; there would be no reason to write if that was not so
So what gurantees that it will be read. Absolutely nothing.*
What does speech relies upon? That another is present at that exact moment. 
Yet with writing, communictaion doesn't depend on either. It leaves a "trace"
 leaving some sort of legacy or memory
 it is the structure that makes communication possible
How do you really think time?
 Derrida mentions "intervals of time"
 can percieve this linear progression but what does it rely upon? 
 need of material conditions. time is abstract yet we have representations from spacial dimentions
 can only know only in relation 
 space and time interdependent; cannot distinguish the two passing by when by themselves
writing is what gives us that structure*
