Balzac’s “case-by-case thinking” : A new modeling for modern analysis

Résumé 0

In epistemological terms, Balzac’s work that is centered on “coordination”—both at micro- and macro-structural levels—may be seen as an alternative model for analysis, embracing a new approach to discourse and to knowledge of the world. In the words of Julien Gracq describing his experience of reading La Comédie humaine: “here the whole does not dictate only the part, it immediately overrides its deficiencies.” Studies of La Comédie humaine as a system—planned but unfinished or incomplete—or as a fragmented, partial unit—a “mosaic”—seem like two recurring poles, both rooted in the same assumption: the idea of logical coherence or a traditional composition that should be established at the outset. It appears, however, that Balzac’s approach can be shown to operate differently, resonating with the current landscape of the social sciences.