Genealogical PracticesThree Ways to Consider the Presence of History in Philosophy

Résumé

This article deals with the relationship between history and philosophy involved in the practice of philosophical genealogy. Genealogy is far from being a simple notion. The use of this concept by Nietzsche and Foucault started a debate in the academic world that has not yet been resolved. This article’s goal is to contribute to the discussion by considering a new facet. I make the claim that the “philosophical-genealogical” paradigm was created by Hegel. Hegel’s genealogy is a narrative of the history of spirit that aims to achieve the historical conditions of the possibility of freedom. That primordial genealogical paradigm allows us to define genealogy as a way to represent the convergence between logos and genesis. I will justify this claim by examining three genealogical paradigms, those of Hegel, Nietzsche and Foucault. These thinkers are not arbitrarily linked: the latter two are trying to escape from the first. But the question is: have they in fact escaped Hegel? My thesis in this article is that the practice of genealogy – at least in the way Nietzsche and Foucault understand it – has not entirely abandoned Hegelian metaphysical conditions. This comparison is relevant to clarify the complex relationship between historical discourses and philosophical concepts.