What did Jacques Derrida mean by the metaphysics of presence?

In the context of postmodernism, Jacques Derrida used the term "metaphysics of presence" to describe a deep-seated tendency in Western philosophy to conceive of fundamental concepts—such as truth, reality, and being—in terms of presence, essence, identity, and origin.12

This metaphysical framework assumes that there is a realm of "truth" existing prior to and independent of its representation through language. It privileges concepts like unity and totality while ignoring the roles of absence and difference. Derrida argued that this perspective is fundamentally flawed because linguistic meaning is never fully "present" or fixed. Instead, meaning is created through the "play" of differences between words—a process he termed différance—which ensures that meaning is always mediated and endlessly deferred.12

By targeting the "metaphysics of presence," deconstruction seeks to expose the fallacy that systematic philosophy can capture an absolute, unmediated truth, demonstrating instead that such quests for metaphysical certitude are constrained by the inherent vagaries of language.32