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Discipline Quote by Michel Foucault

“The history of ideas, then, is the discipline of beginnings and ends, the description of obscure continuities and returns, the reconstitution of developments in the linear form of history. But it can also, by that very fact, describe, from one domain to another, the whole interplay of exchanges…” quote by Michel Foucault
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““The history of ideas, then, is the discipline of beginnings and ends, the description of obscure continuities and returns, the reconstitution of developments in the linear form of history. But it can also, by that very fact, describe, from one domain to another, the whole interplay of exchanges and intermediaries: it shows how scientific knowledge is diffused, gives rise to philosophical concepts, and takes form perhaps in literary works; it shows how problems, notions, themes may emigrate from the philosophical field where they were formulated to scientific or political discourses; it relates work with institutions, social customs or behaviour, techniques, and unrecorded needs and practices; it tries to revive the most elaborate forms of discourse in the concrete landscape, in the midst of the growth and development that witnessed their birth. It becomes therefore the discipline of interferences, the description of the concentric circles that surround works, underline them, relate them to one another, and insert them into whatever they are not.””

Michel Foucault

About This Quote

Source Book: “The Order of Things”, 1966

History of ideas maps how concepts travel across disciplines, linking knowledge, institutions, and practices.

In simple terms: Ideas move between fields, shaping culture.

Key Takeaway

Trace concept origins to understand current contexts.

Themes

intellectual history interdisciplinarity knowledge diffusion

Mood

analytical inquisitive

Type

academic intellectual

When to use this quote

  • academic research
  • policy development
  • creative writing
  • education curriculum design
  • technological innovation

Key Concepts

philosophy of science cultural studies sociology of knowledge

Questions to Reflect On

  • How do ideas in your field originate?
  • What hidden links influence your work?
A Different Perspective

Complex interconnections can be oversimplified, missing nuance.

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