**Genealogy**, in the philosophical sense, is a method for uncovering the **historical forces, power relations, and contingent shifts** that have shaped a concept, practice, or institution. Rather than tracing a clean line back to a single origin, a genealogy reveals: - **Multiple and conflicting beginnings**, not a single source. - **Accidents, ruptures, and struggles** that influenced what survived. - **Changes in [[Meaning]]** driven by political, social, or moral transformations. - **Forgotten alternatives**—paths that might have existed but were suppressed. Foucault uses genealogy to show that ideas we take to be natural—punishment, sexuality, sanity, the modern self—are in fact **historically produced**, shaped by power, and always capable of being otherwise. --- ### **How Etymology Relates to Genealogy** **Etymology** and **genealogy** share a family resemblance: both look backward to reveal **layers of formation**. But they differ in scope and ambition. **Etymology** - Traces the **linguistic history** of a word. - Reveals how forms and meanings shifted through languages (Latin → French → English, etc.). - Deals primarily with **semantic evolution**. **Genealogy** - Traces the **historical, social, and political formation** of a concept or practice. - Investigates **power**, institutions, moralities, and historical events. - Often exposes discontinuities rather than smooth evolution. --- ### **Where They Overlap** - Both uncover **hidden histories** beneath what seems obvious. - Both show that meanings are **unstable, layered, and contingent**. - Both resist the idea of a timeless essence. ### **Where They Diverge** - Etymology follows the **word**. - Genealogy follows the **idea**, institution, or form of life. - Etymology explains **how a term changed**. - Genealogy explains **why it changed**, who benefited, and what social forces were in play. --- ### **In summary** **Etymology reveals how words shift. Genealogy reveals how worlds shift.** The two methods complement each other, but genealogy moves beyond [[Language]] to expose the historical and political forces that make certain meanings possible in the first place. `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:`