Discourse
In Short:
Systems of thought with which we try to grasp and understand the world and ourselves inside of it.
In Quotations:
“Systems of thoughts composed of ideas, attitudes, courses of action, beliefs and practices that systematically construct the subjects and the worlds of which they speak.”
Michel Foucault
In more detail:
Discourse is a basic tenet of social life. Without a shared system of understanding our world would be unimaginable. It would even be impossible to disagree on what sort of world we would want to live in. Discourse makes mutual comprehension possible. But with it we inherit a different set of challenges. When we forget that it’s a tool to seek truth and shape meaning, and not truth(s) in and of themselves, a new danger takes shape.
