APOPHATIC DISCOURSE AND THE DECONSTRUCTION OF LANGUAGE: A STUDY OF DERRIDEAN TOPOLOGY

Abstract

This study examines the complex link between deconstruction and negative theology, concentrating on Derridean interpretation of the apophatic tradition. Deconstruction and negative theology are sometimes seen as similar, but this research shows their key contrasts, notably in how they approach the unsayable and the Other. The research examines Derrida’s 1980s and 1990s works to show how language might be a deconstructive topology of speech that remains unsaturated and open to otherness. This approach challenges metaphysical systems and proposes a logic of denial that transcends constatative and predicative speech by presenting God as ultimate otherness. This method critiques Heidegger’s ontotheology post-structurally and addresses philosophical and literary theory problems about language, silence, and negation in divine representation. This paper seeks to show how a Derridean deconstruction of negative theology might enhance current discourses on language, otherness, and the ineffable by adopting a discourse that speaks via silence and defers meaning in différance.