Refleksi: Jurnal Kajian Agama dan Filsafat
Vol. 24 No. 2 (2025): Refleksi

Reconsidering Digital Text Interpretation: A Dialogical Engagement Between Derrida’s Deconstruction and Gadamer’s Hermeneutics

Husaini Nasution (Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau)
Eva Dewi (Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau)
Rasalhaque Daffa Taruna (Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau)



Article Info

Publish Date
31 Dec 2025

Abstract

This article examines a dialogical epistemological engagement between Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction and Hans-Georg Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics as a theoretical approach to interpreting contemporary digital texts. The digital era is characterized by fluid, multimodal, fragmented, and algorithmically mediated texts, which challenge classical assumptions about meaning, language, and interpretation. Derrida’s deconstruction emphasizes the instability of meaning through the concept of différance, highlighting the continual deferral and relational movement of meaning within networks of signs. In contrast, Gadamer’s hermeneutics underscores the role of productive prejudice, wirkungsgeschichte (history of effects), and the fusion of horizons in the process of understanding. Through philosophical and library-based research, this study demonstrates that despite their apparent differences, Derrida and Gadamer share important epistemological assumptions, including the non-finality of meaning, the centrality of language, the active role of the interpreter, and the relational positioning of texts. This dialogical engagement is proposed as an interpretive framework referred to as “Digital Deconstructive Hermeneutics,” which is relevant for interpreting digital texts shaped by rapid change, intertextuality, and algorithmic mediation. The findings contribute to contemporary debates on interpretive epistemology in the digital age and offer insights for digital literacy and cultural studies.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

refleksi

Publisher

Subject

Social Sciences

Description

Refleksi (ISSN 0215 6253) is a journal published by the Faculty of Ushuluddin Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, Jakarta. The Journal specializes in Qur'an and Hadith studies, Islamic Philosophy, and Religious studies, and is intended to communicate original researches and current issues ...