Final answer:
Deconstruction, as defined by Jacques Derrida, is a method of critical analysis that dismantles traditional hierarchies and binary oppositions within texts to reveal their constructed and unstable nature, thus highlighting multiple interpretations based on context.
Step-by-step explanation:
Jacques Derrida's concept of deconstruction refers to a critical approach that questions and overturns traditional assumptions about the certainties of meaning within a text. Deconstruction aims to reveal and dismantle the hierarchical binary oppositions and privileged concepts in a text, showing that they are not natural or fixed, but rather are constructed and fluid.
Derrida's work emphasizes that meaning is not determined by stable structures but is instead dependent on context and the interplay of differences.
It doesn't simply analyze literary characters or unveil hidden meanings, nor does it construct new philosophical systems. Instead, deconstruction is best understood as critically examining binary oppositions and understanding that our perception of textual coherence is an illusion masking the myriad ways that language constructs meaning.
This approach allows us to see the excluded or marginalized interpretations and understand that meaning is always in a state of flux, influenced by cultural, historical, and ideological forces.