Read the full article which is published on Philosophy Bits (external link)We notice a pattern in some area of our experience, so we give that pattern a name. Then we discover similar patterns that relate to the first pattern and we name those too. Soon we have a whole theory of this domain of experience, which we also name. In doing so, we create for ourselves a new object to study. We can then deploy our reflective and analytical abilities to explore the categories and distinctions we’ve constructed in order to expand and refine them.
All of this activity is supposed to clarify our understanding of our experience. And we often do learn something about ourselves and our world by analyzing it in this way. But when we elevate our theoretical understanding above other kinds of understanding, we tend to transform ordinary life into something far more complicated than it really is. We reify our experience into terms and theories that not only fail to provide clarity but also make simple experiences into complex processes that require careful study to understand.
Poststructuralism as a Regime of Truth: Foucault and the Paradox of Philosophical Authority
Foucault’s critique of power and knowledge shaped poststructuralism, yet its rejection of truth risks becoming its own orthodoxy. To remain...
