![The End of Us](https://cdn.magzter.com/1377116771/1671451912/articles/kPXICAxu31671542153291/THE-END-OF-US.jpg)
With this declaration in The Order of Things (1966), the French philosopher Michel Foucault heralded a new way of thinking that would transform the humanities and social sciences. Foucault's central idea was that the ways we understand ourselves as human beings aren't timeless or natural, no matter how much we take them for granted. Rather, the modern concept of "man" was invented in the 18th century, with the emergence of new modes of thinking about biology, society, and language, and eventually it will be replaced in turn.
As Foucault writes in the book's famous last sentence, one day "man would be erased, like a face drawn in the sand at the edge of the sea." The image is eerie, but he claimed to find it "a source of profound relief," because it implies that human ideas and institutions aren't fixed. They can be endlessly reconfigured, maybe even for the better. This was the liberating promise of postmodernism: The face in the sand is swept away, but someone will always come along to draw a new picture in a different style.
But the image of humanity can be redrawn only if there are human beings to do it. Even the most radical 20th-century thinkers stop short at the prospect of the actual extinction of Homo sapiens, which would mean the end of all our projects, values, and meanings. Humanity may be destined to disappear someday, but almost everyone would agree that the day should be postponed as long as possible, just as most individuals generally try to delay the inevitable end of their own life.
Bu hikaye The Atlantic dergisinin January - February 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Atlantic dergisinin January - February 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
![THE GLACIER RESCUE PROJECT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/8tMX-T8vo1718714248505/THE-GLACIER-RESCUE-PROJECT.jpg)
THE GLACIER RESCUE PROJECT
Can the mighty Thwaites be stopped from tumbling into the sea?
![A Novel Without Characters](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/4yPEWYBVB1718716977007/A-NOVEL-WITHOUT-CHARACTERS.jpg)
A Novel Without Characters
Rachel Cusks lonely experiment
![The Industry That Ate America](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/2XLU552I51718716749037/THE-INDUSTRY-THAT-ATE-AMERICA.jpg)
The Industry That Ate America
The long and lurid history of lobbying
![Kafka's Not Supposed to Make Sense](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/5pD5nGdOu1718716456861/KAFKAS-NOT-SUPPOSED-TO-MAKE-SENSE.jpg)
Kafka's Not Supposed to Make Sense
“The incomprehensible,” he explained, “is incomprehensible.”
![Tornado Watch](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/O-l5i_K_J1718716111951/TORNADO-WATCH.jpg)
Tornado Watch
How Lee Isaac Chung reimagined Twister, one of the biggest climate-disaster thrillers of all time
![Too Cute to Fail](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/jXiIWXkLE1718715373348/TOO-CUTE-TO-FAIL.jpg)
Too Cute to Fail
Koalas are threatened by climate change, cars, and chlamydia. Can Australia find a way to protect its most beloved animal?
![THE FIRST THREE MONTHS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/_wh3lp8HM1718713159859/THE-FIRST-THREE-MONTHS.jpg)
THE FIRST THREE MONTHS
What I saw inside the government’s response to COVID-19
![THE VALLEY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1733047/BSZgiac3f1718712455227/THE-VALLEY.jpg)
THE VALLEY
Searching for the future in the most American city
![THE AIRPORT-LOUNGE ARMS RACE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1705472/4GLuV90RJ1716814207720/THE-AIRPORTLOUNGE-ARMS-RACE.jpg)
THE AIRPORT-LOUNGE ARMS RACE
Inside the ever more extravagant competition to lure affluent travelers
![Hypochondria Never Dies](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/4302/1705472/18KmE7vNN1716814038369/HYPOCHONDRIA-NEVER-DIES.jpg)
Hypochondria Never Dies
The diagnosis is officially gone, but health anxiety is everywhere.