The Order of ThingsWhen one defines "order" as a sorting of priorities, it becomes beautifully clear as to what Foucault is doing here. With virtuoso showmanship, he weaves an intensely complex history of thought. He dips into literature, art, economics and even biology in The Order of Things, possibly one of the most significant, yet most overlooked, works of the twentieth century. Eclipsed by his later work on power and discourse, nonetheless it was The Order of Things that established Foucault's reputation as an intellectual giant. Pirouetting around the outer edge of language, Foucault unsettles the surface of literary writing. In describing the limitations of our usual taxonomies, he opens the door onto a whole new system of thought, one ripe with what he calls "exotic charm". Intellectual pyrotechnics from the master of critical thinking, this book is crucial reading for those who wish to gain insight into that odd beast called Postmodernism, and a must for any fan of Foucault. |
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able according Adam Smith analogy analysis of wealth animals appear archaeological arrangement articulation basis become Benoît de Maillet biology character Classical age Classical thought common Condillac constituted continuity culture Cuvier define Descartes designate Destutt Destutt de Tracy discourse domain Don Quixote economics eighteenth century elements empirical Encyclopédie episteme epistemological established exchange existence experience fact figures finitude foundation function fundamental given grammar guage human sciences Ibid identities and differences individual labour Lamarck language laws linked Linnaeus living longer man’s mathesis means men’s metal mode modern thought movement natural history never nineteenth century object ontology organic structure origin philology philosophy Physiocrats Port-Royal positivity possible production proposition psychoanalysis pure quantity question reflection relation represent resemblance revealed role root seventeenth signified signs similitude sixteenth century space speak species taxinomia theory things tion transcendental truth verb Vicq d’Azyr visible whole words