Erasure is a term used by deconstructivists like Jacques Derrida to mean the inevitability of relying on definitions that are both inadequate on the one hand and necessary on the other.
Derrida adopted this practice of writing sous rature (subject to erasure) from Martin Heidegger. The word sign itself is so deeply rooted in a tradition in which the Transcendental signified occupies the highest possible place that every time we use the word, we necessarily suggest the signified (that which is in itself, separate from any representation). But to remove the note of the transcendental signified, Derrida had no choice but to use language, which to some extent amplified the point of view he was attacking. Such a practice shows the need to situate yourself within the pattern you are trying to destroy.
