Article

There is Nothing Outside of Semiosis. Reading Umberto Eco with Derrida

by Martino Feyles

in Versus n. 131, Futuro. Un tempo della storia / Future. A Time of History, pp.331-346

Abstract (english)

In this paper I will focus on the idea of unlimited semiosis and on the theory of reading proposed by Eco, claiming that his ideas can be considered as arguments for the Derridian conception of text. This interpretation is explicitly banned by Eco. Starting from the 80’s he began a polemic against theories that seem to deny any limit to interpretation. Deconstruction is often mentioned as the most important example of these kind of theories. However Eco criticizes the most popular and untrustworthy interpretation of deconstruction. The aim of this paper is to show that the contrast between Eco’s theory and deconstruction is not so evident as he would like to believe.