ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the central ideas of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault, and discusses the rise of a growing poststructural research tradition. Jacques Derrida is inextricably linked with the theory and philosophy of deconstruction. Derrida's entire and monumental critique of Western philosophy rests on what he sees as its logocentrism. Along with other poststructuralists and postmodernists, Derrida is strongly opposed to philosophies or thought systems of the center. Foucault's work has been described as neo-structuralist, neo-eclectic, and Spinozist, transcendental historicist, and most frequently, as poststructuralist. It makes sense to treat Foucault as a poststructuralist because of his emphasis on language and his simultaneous rejection of linguistic and structural essences. The chapter explores some of the themes in Madness and Civilization in order to give readers a tangible sense of Foucault's ideas and his use of the archaeological method. An important criticism of both Derrida and Foucault is directed against their suspicion of collective voices and organized social movements.
