If only there was a Department of Fieldwork in Philosophy
HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory September 1, 2021 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1086/716845 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
Fieldwork in philosophy is a second-order philosophical anthropology that examines contemporary forms of the human by attending to lower-level concepts and practices. Drawing on Michel Foucault's approach to the history of the present, it departs from historical inquiry to conduct anthropological fieldwork. The essay reconstructs Paul Rabinow's conception of fieldwork in philosophy, illustrated by case studies on the perennial philosophy of the psychedelic renaissance, neurophilosophers in a sleep laboratory, and cultural primatologists studying human nature in the African rainforest. It concludes by advocating for reimagining anthropology as fieldwork in philosophy.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Fieldwork in philosophy should be reimagined as a form of anthropological inquiry that examines contemporary human practices and concepts through fieldwork rather than historical analysis. |
Abstract
Fieldwork in philosophy amounts to a second-order philosophical anthropology. It examines contemporary forms of the human by attending to lower-level concepts and practices. It departs from Michel Foucault’s gray and meticulous approach to the history of the present, which understands the transformation of high-level organizing concepts such as “Man” or “the subject” through an inquiry into scientific discourses, clinical practices, disciplinary institutions, etc. However, fieldwork in philosophy doesn’t approach the present by writing its history but by conducting anthropological fieldwork. This essay reconstructs Paul Rabinow’s conception of fieldwork in philosophy as it inspired the author’s work on the perennial philosophy of the psychedelic renaissance, a case study of neurophilosophers in a sleep laboratory, as well as research on cultural primatologists who took the Enlightenment question of human nature to the African rainforest. The essay ends with a plea for reimagining anthropology as fieldwork in philosophy.