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[[Image:800px-Crop Book of Isaiah 2006-06-06.jpg|thumb|300px|The Holy Bible]]

[[Image:800px-Crop Book of Isaiah 2006-06-06.jpg|thumb|300px|The Holy Bible]]

:''Not to be confused with [[Reconstruction]].

:''Not to be confused with [[Reconstruction]].

'''Deconstruction''' is the [[postmodern]] or post-structuralist technique for language and literary analysis, created by French philosopher Jacques Derrida, that denies the existence of a single meaning behind a set of symbols, such as a sentence.  This is in contrast with most previous methods of understanding meanings, which assumed that there was a single concrete message intended by the author. The term is used in [[philosophy]], literary criticism, and the social sciences.  

'''Deconstruction''' is the [[postmodern]] or post-structuralist technique for language and literary analysis, created by French philosopher [[Jacques Derrida]], that denies the existence of a single meaning behind a set of symbols, such as a sentence.  This is in contrast with most previous methods of understanding meanings, which assumed that there was a single concrete message intended by the author. The term is used in [[philosophy]], literary criticism, and the social sciences.  

In pointing out that the manner in which symbols (or "signifiers") are understood is something that changes not only from culture to culture, but also person to person, deconstruction indicates that there is no essentially transcendental idea (or "signified") behind a symbol.<ref>Bressler, Charles.  ''Literary Criticism'' 3rd ed. (Prentice Hall, Chicago, Illinois 2002) ISBN 978-0130333971.</ref>  This is sometimes interpreted as there being ''no'' meaning at all, but this is a common misunderstanding.  Further, some confuse deconstruction with another school of thought known as "reader response" criticism, in which emphasis is placed upon individual interpretation according to personal experiences.<ref>Noebel, David, ''Understanding the Times'' (Summit Ministries, Manitou Springs, Colorado 2006) ISBN 978-0936163000.</ref>  In deconstruction, an approach which derives mostly from linguistic analysis, Derrida pointed out that the "actual" signified of any given signifier was often "undecidable," or incapable of being given a single interpretation independent from the individual understanding it.  Derrida coined a number of the above terms, among others, to describe these phenomena.

In pointing out that the manner in which symbols (or "signifiers") are understood is something that changes not only from culture to culture, but also person to person, deconstruction indicates that there is no essentially transcendental idea (or "signified") behind a symbol.<ref>Bressler, Charles.  ''Literary Criticism'' 3rd ed. (Prentice Hall, Chicago, Illinois 2002) ISBN 978-0130333971.</ref>  This is sometimes interpreted as there being ''no'' meaning at all, but this is a common misunderstanding.  Further, some confuse deconstruction with another school of thought known as "reader response" criticism, in which emphasis is placed upon individual interpretation according to personal experiences.<ref>Noebel, David, ''Understanding the Times'' (Summit Ministries, Manitou Springs, Colorado 2006) ISBN 978-0936163000.</ref>  In deconstruction, an approach which derives mostly from linguistic analysis, Derrida pointed out that the "actual" signified of any given signifier was often "undecidable," or incapable of being given a single interpretation independent from the individual understanding it.  Derrida coined a number of the above terms, among others, to describe these phenomena.