A public lecture to Hong Kong students by the acclaimed French philosopher Jacques Derrida drew an overwhelming response this week.
There was standing room only in Li Koon Chun Hall in Chung Chi College at the Chinese University (CUHK) on Monday when Professor Derrida made the first of two appearances. The hall, with a capacity for 230, was packed, with many seated on the floors or jostling for space at the entrance.
Cheung Chan-fai, associate professor in CUHK's department of philosophy, said the huge response surpassed lectures given in the past by Nobel prize winners. 'This is certainly one of the most popular lectures we have had,' he said.
As the founder of deconstructionism, Professor Derrida, professor emeritus of the School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Paris, is seen by some as the most important philosopher of the last half-century.
This school of thought, originated in the 1960s, turned conventional metaphysics on its head as a method of critical analysis of literary texts. It exposes multiple layers of meaning in writings, independent of the author's intentions.
Deconstructionist thinking helped lead to the wider school of postmodernism, and has had an impact on a range of fields including architecture, fine arts, cultural studies, literature, law and post-colonialist thinking.