The Loneliness of Meaning

While accurate in many respects, post structuralism (when applied to life as a text) can be a very lonely and daunting concept. If we examine life and ourselves through this lens, we may fall quickly into a bit of an existential crisis. We think of our lives as having meaning, as ourselves having a distinct and defined character; but within this lens, meanings are derived from how they relate to and differ from other meanings. Does that mean we have no concrete meaning on our own? Are we merely defined by other things (concepts, schemes etc.) What would we be if we existed separately? Of course that is an impossibility, as we are a part of our discourse and can not exist outside it (making this dilemma existential in nature). 

Post structuralism does not simply oppose structuralism; rather it expands and deepens the pre-existing theory. The issues with structuralism are easily apparent. Words themselves carry multiple meanings, connotations and denotations. This is complicated further when we take into account the relationship between words within a text; context affecting meaning. We then notice the relationships that occur inter-textually (Murfin, Ray 400). Again, another layer is added when we think of the reader's individual perspective that is brought to the text in relation to the author's perspective. All these moving pieces, though complex in nature, do make one thing extremely clear: meaning is not determinable or determinant (Murfin, Ray 113). I realize this is a very summed up version of post structuralism and of Derrida's coined term diferance; however in essence I am getting applying these concepts to how we define ourselves and find meaning in our own lives. I couldn't help but think of this as I read, and it was quite daunting at times because I find that I agree with post structuralism. I love that the word differance is a pun (meaning to differ, to defer), that within itself shows how meaning can be construed multiple ways; however I am still left with the unsettling knowledge that inherently we lack true substance (as in we can not stand alone). To be honest, I think I was somewhat aware of this already int he back of my mind. As a psychology major, I have found that I really believe we are mostly a product of our environment (which goes hand-in-hand with the concept of post structuralism). As a fangirl of Foucault's work, I realize the effects of discourse on us are almost tangible, and we can not separate from our discourse, let alone our episteme. Post structuralism has put a name on these concepts, bringing them together in my mind. Facing this reality that meaning is contingent on other meanings and is fluid as opposed to fixed, is difficult when applied to ourselves. However it is not necessarily a negative, so much as it is an inevitability.