journal

Alyazia Alnaqbi ENGL 1102 - 41

Journal

Journal Entry: “The Order of Things an Archaeology of the Human Sciences”

This is a book written by Michel Foucault keen on learning more about the human sciences. The ideas posed in the article is an analysis of the how the human sciences came into being. The key theme brought out in the article include; order, resemblance, episteme and archaeology. Supportive themes mentioned include wealth, political economy, natural history and general grammar to name but a few. According to the writer, order is the hidden inner guidance, it does not exist and only comes to live at a glance. The argument brought out is that, order is prominent in every culture. It is the interlink between things and their identity and is deeply rooted to the degree of being perceived as a natural phenomenon. In addition, order is further portrayed as an internal ideology manifested physically rather than an external one imposed or decided upon.

According to Foucault, when it comes to culture, there are ordering codes whose job is to ensure there are guidelines followed by every man through which he is at utmost comfort ( xx). They form the philosophical explanation or theories that elaborate on the reason for the existence of the order. The ordering codes are also responsible for explaining the general law followed by order, the principle behind it and why a particular order is eminent than others in a given cultural setting. He then concludes that order serves as a governing code on how we interact and relate to our world and how we perceive these codes. It is through “order” that Foucault argues that the language has been spoken, creatures have been understood and grouped in various classes and the general exchange has been carried since the 16th century.

The aim of the inquiry is to get a full understanding as stated in the research on how theory and knowledge came into existence. Here archaeological investigation is utilized to get a conclusion on the forces behind the occurrence of the matters and issues prevailing. It is used as an avenue for understanding the happening leading to a phenomenon and not an avenue for stating how the phenomenon came into being. Archaeology is seen as an avenue of inquiry interested in identifying the force behind the existence of a particular phenomenon. He states that in understanding a given phenomenon, we need to try and get to discover the forces behind the formation of a prevailing phenomenon. We need to know what was happening in its inception, he gives an example of the modernity has to be traced back to its backbone that of Renaissance (xxiv).   Another theme in the article is the Resemblance, it is the freedom that allows expression, judgment and thought. It is portrayed as “the space where one speaks” and “the space where one looks”. It is his argument that it is through this “space” that we able to differentiate one thing from the other.

Another argument posed is the fact that culture defines what limit is (xxiv). History order associated with a given phenomenon will form the history associated with related to phenomenon and, for this reason, enabling in distinguishing them and by extension issuing of identities.  Basing his argument on the Veron de Fortbonnais, his view is the fact that knowledge flourish as an engendering knowledge. This means the knowledge that portrays itself as the one transforming ideas and modifying them. It is thus his conclusion that what is at the disposal of the archaeological analysis in by large the classical thought. It can also take the shape of what constitute the modernity that which separates us from the classical knowledge.

 

 

Conclusion

Michel Foucault argument tries to explain how the body of knowledge common referred as human sciences came into being. He comes up with the main elements that helps him to explain the human behaviors in terms of thoughts and how the humans distinguish one from the other. He argues that order is a critical component towards understanding the body of knowledge. He argues that, order exist in every culture something I conquer with. He goes ahead and argue that the order is deep rooted in us a fact that I don’t agree with. In the different eras from the Agrarian, Evolution and scientific age, order has always been instilled through rules a phenomenon that is always set externally. The viable argument could be once we are aware of terms and expectations of order, we follow it instinctively.

Another argument posed is the fact that culture sets the bar when it comes to the limit in terms of knowledge. This is also an argument that I do not agree with, the viable case could have been the depending on the rigidity of the culture; culture can be a limiting or empowering phenomenon. In the presence of cultural interaction, there is a lot of exchange of information making it impossible to have an exclusive culture that would have been possible to create a limit. A point well put in the article is the fact that if when we want to understand a particular prevailing matter, we need to learn the forces behind the existence of the phenomenon. If we learn on the pressures that were present during the time when a body of knowledge was brought out, we get better understanding compared to just trying to state the reason for its existence. It is, therefore, clear that human sciences have always been a continuous journey in attempting to understand the human behavior. It has been an avenue to understand humanistic traits like order, the ability to relate different aspects leading to identity formation.

 

 

Works Cited

Foucault, Michel. The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences. London: Routledge, 2002. Print.