A Deconstructionist Approach to The Discourse of The First Wave of Intellectualism in Iran: Mirza Malkum Khan, Akhond zadeh And Mirza Agha Khan Kermani

The simultaneity of the emergence of western civilization and the downfall of Iranian society created an environment and epistemological arena that Iranian intellectuals had an important role in the development of its semantic system. This article deals with the question how the first wave of intellectuals- when faced with the first wave of modernity discourse- defined its identity borders. The first wave of intellectuals in Iran including Malkum khan، Akhond zadeh and Agha khan kermani in line with the binary opposition logic of modernity reproduced some new concepts and elements under the influence of the positivistic and transcendental discourse of modernity. Relying on the discourse of modernity، the first wave of intellectuals defined the borders of Iranian identity in contrast with tradition، Islam and clergymen، initiating a new discourse in the cultural-historical sphere of Iran that made it inevitable to refer to the west and submit to it. In the present study، the penetration of modernity discourse in the discourse of the first wave of intellectuals and the reproduction of a fake Iranian identity are deconstructed