Deconstruction is a term used to describe a loosely-defined set of approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It is a project of critical thought that aims to locate and "take apart" the concepts which serve as the axioms or rules for a period of thought, those concepts which command the unfolding of an entire epoch of metaphysics. Deconstruction is somewhat less negative than the Heideggerian or Nietzschean terms "destruction" or "reversal". According to the Cambridge Dictionary, deconstruction is "the act of breaking something down into its separate parts in order to understand its meaning, especially when this is different from how it was previously understood". The Merriam-Webster dictionary states that deconstruction is "the analytic examination of something (such as a theory) often in order to reveal its inadequacy".
Deconstruction has greatly influenced literary criticism and post-structuralism. It denotes the pursuing of the meaning of a text to the point of exposing the supposed contradictions and internal oppositions. In philosophy, deconstruction is a form of philosophical and literary analysis that questions the oppositions challenged by deconstruction, which have been inherent in Western philosophy since the time of the ancient Greeks. Deconstruction is always a double movement of simultaneous affirmation and undoing. To deconstruct is to take a text apart along the structural "fault lines" created by the ambiguities inherent in one or more of its key concepts or themes in order to reveal the equivocations or contradictions that make the text possible.
In recent years, the term "deconstruction" has been used in evangelical circles to describe the process of questioning, doubting, and ultimately rejecting aspects of Christian faith. However, this definition still leaves plenty of room for confusion because the "dismantling" can look quite different for different people. While deconstruction implies openness in theory, it most often manifests as an "escape clause" when it comes time to justify ones new or more popular beliefs.
