How deconstruction can be constructive: inward- and outwardbound academic entrepreneurship as drivers for change

Abstract

From text: A colleague of mine once warned me never to be tempted into a debate with a philosopher. They take time to reflect, analyse critically, comment sharply, and play wittily with language so that — in the end — you as the subject (or in most cases the “object”) of their clever, multilayered and complex discourse feel like a dog chasing its own tail.

As may be seen from this response to Johann Visagie’s (2005) statement “Deconstructing the discourse of community service and academic entrepreneurship: the ideological colonization of the university”, I have chosen to ignore my friend’s advice. There are four reasons for this.