A originalidade da ideia de “arqueologia dos saberes” e seus desdobramentos políticos

Abstract

The idea of an “archeology” in the plane of thought, as proposed by Michel Foucault (1926-1984), generated and continues to generate confusion and controversy. Thus since the first debates around his classic The Order of Things (1966), as we see, for example, in the answer given by Sartre and other Marxists to the book. The readings of these authors consisted in denouncing a denial of history, which would entail obstacles for political action. Besides this controversy, there remains a confusion of the archaeological enterprise as an effort to indicate behaviours or mentalities purportedly acting under knowledge and inspiring discourses and practices. The aim of this article is, in this sense, twofold: on the one hand, to reinforce the idea of archeology of knowledge as opposed to a history of ideas (mentalities or behaviours); on the other, to show that one of its consequences is precisely the opposite of what one might think. It is about broadening the field of political action.