Aporia • (a-por-ē-a) • noun
Definition: impasse, puzzlement, doubt
Origin: Greek
Aporia is an Ancient Greek word that was popular amongst the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, but the importance of aporia today derives from how 20th-century French philosopher Jacques Derrida re-imagined the word.
For Plato, his line of questioning, or dialogue, often ended with the recipient in a state of aporia. Plato would challenge and dissect every idea, and more often than not, the recipient would end up doubting the legitimacy of their previous ideas. This doubt left them puzzled and confronting an impasse regarding what they should or should not believe. Who knows how kindly the recipients accepted the state of aporia that Plato led them to, but it should come as no surprise that many Ancient Greeks did not appreciate Plato’s aporetic discourse.
Many people could use a dose of Plato’s aporia to reevaluate their long-held beliefs, but today I would like to focus on Derrida’s interpretation, which I find to be more empowering.
Derrida is most known for the philosophy of Deconstructionism and his philosophical work helped provide the language and foundation for challenging status quos that often are overly simplistic and binary.
As a French Jew raised in Algeria, he frequently found his existence to be in conflict with the simplistic, binary norms of his society. He was shunned by the majority Muslim nation, and in France, he was also shunned for being a Jew. Despite being a great student, he was still ostracized for being Jewish. These tensions and contradictions demanded that he deconstruct his environment in order to find meaning in the world because if he merely accepted the status quo he would have tacitly accepted his own subjugation. He began deconstructing the world long before he published a book about Deconstructionism.
For Derrida, a complex world with simplistic norms and narratives requires deconstruction in order to understand its complexity, and the act of deconstruction will naturally result in states of aporia. According to Derrida, we do not need our own personal Plato to prompt aporia. Instead, aporia represents maturity as we confront the world and grow out of antiquated, simplistic norms.
Throughout life, there are innumerable times when we struggle to make sense of our situations and are unsure about what should be considered “right” or “wrong.” Far too often many of us cling to simple solutions in order to reclaim the certainty that we once had. We run from aporia, and see our doubt and puzzlement as a sign of weakness instead of growth. The perceived security of a stagnant, sameness actually stunts our growth and makes us ill-equipped to deal with the complexities of the world. Aporia, however, demonstrates the power of language because the existence of a word to define and empower us during our impasse actually helps to provide us with the stability we need to mature, grow, and confront the world. Aporia is a great counter to the anxiety we often feel when confronted with a chaotic, complex world.
It is obvious that COVID-19 has heightened the need for aporia as our world becomes less and less certain. Every aspect of our lives has been filled with more doubt than ever before. The emergence of a deadly contagious disease has raised questions about how we should interact with other people, the type of food we should eat, the stability of our economy, and more. Many Americans have responded with anxiety and a desire to return to normal, but what we really need is aporia.
The difficulty of aporia, and especially in America, is the fact that aporia cannot exist in isolation. When you have doubts, are puzzled, or reach an impasse, you need someone whom you can express your thoughts to and bounce ideas off of. Also, this person must not try to direct you to simple solutions with the hope of quickly rectifying your aporia. America professes individualism and simplistic solutions, and as a result, we are left with isolationism and immaturity as the solution to most of our problems. America aspires for the antithesis of aporia and unsurprisingly, most of us have anxiety as we address the inevitable conflicts of life.
At a personal level, the words and concepts that became the foundation of SCL only manifested because I had a community of friends who let me live in a state of aporia for years and years. I could share with them my ideas, and receive feedback without being ushered into an easy answer. I was given the time and support to experiment and make sense of my environment with very little pressure to come to a particular conclusion.
Aporia is both an individual and a collective journey as we mature in the world. At SCL, we hope to assist in that maturation as we all encounter various states of aporia.
This week as you encounter doubts and confusion, try to perceive these moments as a state of growth and embrace aporia. Tell a friend about aporia and use this impasse as an opportunity to grow together.
As always, please share your thoughts with us via email, Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter using #TheWord to join the conversation. We will be hosting a Live Q&A session on our Instagram today at 5PM EDT so that we can answer your questions about aporia. We hope to see you there.