Rethinking the Play of the World: Neil deGrasse Tyson and Saussure on Understanding “le jeu du monde”
It is therefore the game of the world [le jeu du monde] that must be first thought; before attempting to understand all the forms of play [jeu] in the world. (Derrida, Of Grammatology, 50) Introduction In a thought-provoking interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored , astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson presented an alternative perspective on categorizing athletes, particularly in the context of transgender athletes competing in women's sports. Instead of adhering to the traditional categorization by biological sex, Tyson suggests a system based on hormone levels, such as testosterone and estrogen. This innovative idea draws an intriguing parallel to Ferdinand de Saussure's departure from traditional linguistic categorizations. Just as Saussure redefined language analysis through the concept of differences and oppositions, Tyson's proposal represents a transformative shift in how we understand and categorize human physiology and performance. Tyson's Proposal: ...