Originary Thinking

Originary Thinking is a method of examining a social object, through examining its origins. Through understanding how and why it was created, we can gain an understanding of what it actually does, what it's intended function is. Whether the origin is empirically known or not, the scene must be stripped down to its bare minimum elements that must've necessarily been in play in order for it to have been possible to emerge. Because unnecessary elements pollute the analysis and our understanding of the object, plausible leading to false conclusions and implications.

References

Gans, E. L. (1993). Originary Thinking: Elements of Generative Anthropology https://learn.generativeanthropology.com/wiki/Originary_Thinking