The Deconstruction Course

A study circle on Jacques Derrida’s seminal essay, “Plato’s Pharmacy,” commenced on the 1st of August 2026. Its primary objective is to offer an immersive introduction to the French philosopher—or, more precisely, anti-philosopher—and his foundational concepts.

While introductory commentary on Derrida proliferated across Sri Lanka’s intellectual discourse throughout the 1990s—evident in works such as Deepthi Kumara Gunaratne’s "කලාව සහ විසංයෝජනය" ("Art and Deconstruction") alongside his essays in Pravada, Mathota, and London; Nalin Swaris’s comparative study on deconstruction and Buddhist Anatta-vada; Rohan Perera’s provocative intervention; and contributions by Desmond Mallikarachchi, Sasanka Perera, Saman Wickramaarachchi, K.K. Saman Kumara, and Nalin de Silva—our trajectory departs significantly from this lineage.

Rather than compiling another secondary overview, we invite a collective, close reading of Derrida’s primary prose—a project unprecedented in local scholarship. We aim to reconstruct Derridean deconstruction within the Sinhala language. Transcending abstract summaries, such as claiming that "différance precedes identity," we will analyze Derrida's dense, aphoristic text sentence by sentence, cultivating a genuine experience of primary engagement.

This remains a formidable undertaking. Given Derrida's rigor regarding textual interpretation, our long-standing methodology for transposing Western philosophy into Sinhala will undergo a rigorous test. This is by no means a popularizing endeavor; it is an arduous, time-intensive academic exercise. Participation requires no allegiance to our political or theoretical framework; it is open to anyone committed to achieving an advanced grasp of Derrida's thought.

K.K. Saman Kumara famously characterized Derridean deconstruction as a "මැජික් පොල්ල" ("magic wand")—a descriptor that, in many respects, still captures its reception in Sri Lanka today. This project aims to demystify this intellectual magic wand, laying bare the precise mechanics of philosophy’s most formidable illusionist. We invite all interested readers to join us Saturdays at 10:30 AM at the Mahaweli Centre in Colombo.