Here are a few rudimentary thoughts on ‘The Trace’ – a concept of Jacques Derrida’s that appears throughout his work, but predominantly in in his earlier discussions within ‘Writing and Difference’, ‘Margins of Philosophy’, and ‘Of Grammatology’.[1] I thought that, as it was a Friday, I would do something different and have a play with my understanding of Derrida’s ‘trace’. Forgive the style of play.
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Simply put, ‘the trace’ [la Trace] is the present absence of meaning embedded within the linguistic structure of signs in use – revealing the presence of an ‘other’ that is present through its meta-physical absence in the linguistic posit. ‘Being’ is thus smashed, meaning that presence and absence are mutually constructive – the present is in relation to what is not, to the time of the ‘impresent’.
The trace itself escapes a formal mode of temporality. Sliding into a terrain before the past and beyond the future, in this manner, the potential connections between signs and beings are broken of all limitation, and hence becoming boundless. Time is thus no limit on the trace as temporality is always a definite entity, concrete in its malleable rigidity. The trace, however is indefinite, liquid and deferring in its rigid malleability; slipping through time like air through lung.
Perhaps then, through a discourse of the trace, we can see that what we are not speaking of is always present in our speech through its internalised exteriority within the boundaries of language. ‘the trace’ is a complex term, purposefully made so without assistance from Derrida, which holds a meaning that is innately deferred. I tend to think of ‘the trace’ in the way of ‘residue’, as a residue of all that which the sign is not – opening the space for the capability of ‘the trace’ as process, a process of tracing. Within the linguistic signification of the materially extant or ideationally extant, there is always contained within it the residue of ‘the other’ – of what it is not. However, this of course presupposes a notion of what is, of its being.
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Complicatedly, ‘the trace’ [la Trace] is the absent presence of non-meaning external to the linguistic structure of signs in disuse – concealing the absence of ‘the self’ that is absent through its immanent presence in the linguistic posit. ‘Non-being’ is thus assembled, deferring that presence and absence are singularly deconstructed – the non-present stands out of unrelation to what is, to the time of the ‘present'.
The trace is not bound by a structured mode of spatiality. Resisting an encapsulated terrain after the future and near the past, in this manner, the existent disjunction between beings and signs are renewed of all potentiality, and hence unbecoming limited. Space is thus a declassification on the trace as spatiality is always a fluid entity, intangible in its rigid malleability. The trace, however is indefinite, liquid and deferring in its malleable rigidity; slipping through space like breath through air.
Possibly, by a dialogue of the trace, one could observe that what one is not-speaking of is never absent in our language through its exterior interiority outside the structures of language. ‘the trace’ is a simple term, aimlessly made so with assistance from Derrida, which holds a meaning that is extrinsically fixed. I tend to think of ‘the trace’ in the way of ‘detection’, as detecting nothing that which the sign is – closing the time for the potential of ‘the trace’ as event, an event of singularity. Outside the linguistic signification of the ideationally extant or materially extant, there is never simply ‘the self’ – of what it is. Also, this questionably misses a misconception of what is not, of its non-being.
[1] Jacques Derrida (2008) Writing
and Difference, Abingdon: Routledge; (1982) “Différance”, in Margins of
Philosophy, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, pp. 1-28; and (1976) Of
Grammatology, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.