Community of Philosophical Inquiry Visits Derrida: In Defense of “Abnormality” in the Iranian Fairy Tale, Bald Black Mam

Drawing on Derrida’s deconstruction, this chapter provides a philosophical reading of an Iranian Fairy tale, Bald Black Mam [Kachal-e’ Mam Siah], to indicate why and how it is an appropriate material for philosophical discussions in the community of philosophical inquiry, also adding that it aims to introduce Derrida’s deconstruction as an avenue through which a reconceptualization of “critical thinking” is possible. It is revealed that Bald Black Mam is a fairy tale against fairy tales, in the sense that it revolts against the common understanding of the genre of fairy tale, both in form and in content. It challenges the binary of normality/abnormality celebrating the unprivileged side (abnormality). While in fairy tales the supremacy of the first center over the opposing center is usually endorsed, here an established binary opposition is challenged in such a way that abnormality takes the privilege of the first side. The tale’s deconstructive structure and themes give rise to deconstructing other binaries existing in the text such as male/female, white/black, the West/East, and ugly/beautiful. It is as if the text objects to the hierarchical binaries constituting the structure and content of most fairy tales.