The Wooden Form of Meaning: Saussure and Derrida on Identity and Value
The cobbler’s mold. AI image From Saussure to Derrida — Unseen Structures of Meaning Both Ferdinand de Saussure and Jacques Derrida challenged the notion that meaning or identity arises from within the sign or subject itself. For Saussure, linguistic value does not stem from an intrinsic connection between sound and concept but from a network of differences within a system. Derrida extends this insight, showing that identity—whether linguistic, artistic, or subjective—is never self-present but depends on prior traces and frames. This essay proposes that Derrida’s forme en bois (wooden form), introduced in his reading of Van Gogh’s A Pair of Shoes , operates as a tangible metaphor for these pre-existing structures. Just as the shoe cast gives shape to the absent foot, so too do unseen frameworks—linguistic, cultural, or material—shape meaning and identity. The forme stands where the subject is not; it is the condition of presence through absence. Van Gogh’s Shoes: The Thr...