Fabian links the ocularcentrism and spatialization of Ramism with the social science tendency to regard its object of study as, well, objects: “Once the source of any knowledge worthy of that name is thought primarily to be visual perception of objects in space, why should it be scandalous to treat the Other - other societies, other cultures, other classes within the same society - comme des choses ?” He acknowledges that Durkheim, from whom the French phrase derives, didn’t want to treat persons as objects, but argues that “he did postulate in that context that the social and cultural must assume, through observation, quantification, and systematic generalization, the same facticity that is exhibited by the choses in our field of vision.”
Durkheim followed Enlightenment predecessors, who themselves derived their categories and instincts from ancient rhetorical sources, in formulating a ” methodologie du regard .”
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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