Of Grammatology

Derrida turns his attention to Rousseau’s Essay on the Origin of Languages, which encapsulates Rousseau’s logocentric arguments. In this chapter, Derrida outlines Rousseau’s logic of the supplement and presents final deconstructive arguments for Rousseau’s theories about the origin and abstraction of language. In doing so, Derrida draws on Rousseau’s own examples and evidence, demonstrating how the argument unmakes itself.

The Place of the Essay

Derrida’s analysis seeks to break apart Rousseau’s mythology surrounding the origin of language, as well as the false belief that speech is more divine because of its intimate relationship with the mind: “Immediacy is here the myth of consciousness” (180). Like Rousseau, Derrida equates the written word with masturbation. But while Rousseau views both as inferior supplements, Derrida argues that both are part of the reality of experience.

Derrida breaks down Rousseau’s theories and reveals his influences, such as the French philosopher Étienne Bonnot de Condillac. Rousseau argues that writing contributes to the degradation of language, which coincides in turn with the decline of the social and political landscape. Therefore, the evolution of language relates directly to the political corruption contributing to it. Communication through voice was the origin of language and the most authentic form of communication, expressed first as pity from a mother to a child.