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In his book "Is There A Meaning in This Text?" Kevin Vanhoozer explains Derrida's dictum that "there is nothing outside the text" by saying that everything is part of a signifying system or classification system that is constituted by differences. He offers this illuminating illustration: "a Ford has its particular connotations because it is part of a signifying system that includes Yugos, Peugots, and Jaguars. The 'meaning' of a Ford Escort is constituted by its differences from other cars (including other fords). An Escort is a text in the context of other automobiles. There is no such thing as an 'absolute Ford,' whose meaning could be considered in a cultural vacuum. Rather, the particular value that we have come to associate with Fords depends as much on how cars are marketed as how cars are manufactured, and on how 'Ford' is placed in the signifying system that includes 'Jaguar,' 'Volkswagon,' 'Chevrolet,' and 'Toyota.'" The point is that there is NO grasp of "Ford" by stepping outside the system of classification, no "absolute Ford" that transcends the classification system, nor even an "absolute automobile" that is outside the "text" of different makes and models.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 05:36 PM
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