Essays on Michel Foucault

In Parts one and Two of Volume One of Michael Foucault’s Philosophy on Sexuality, he analyses and distances himself from what he calls “Repression Hypothesis,” using our desire to analyze and investigate the “science” of our sexual behavior, our need to confess what we deem sexual immorality, and the productive nature of the relationship of sex to power and knowledge, as the key elements of his argument. A definition of “Repression Hypothesis” is necessary for us to understand further why Foucault rejects it. According to American philosopher and University of California, Berkeley professor of Philosophy, Hurbert Dryfus, and ...

Since the adoption of the Patriot Act 2 on October 2001, strict measures such as the detention of foreigners suspected of a security breach, electronic surveillance of individuals through databases, authentication identities through biometrics, technologization border controls, among others, are presented in political discourse of the USA. The US security and media are the latest techniques in the fight against terrorism. Most Americans feel that these measures are contemporary to the fight against terrorism. In fact, this impression is the product of the effects of language games made by the administration and the media as the rhetoric and imagery ...

The idea behind Foucault's theory of power structures is that power is what makes society what it is. Power exists everywhere and comes from man's concept of what his or her definition of everywhere is. Given that power is derived from everywhere, it is not a structure, but rather an overarching influence that exists in society. The idea of power according to Foucault is intertwined with the subject of knowledge. Using the term, power/knowledge, Foucault identifies that the concept of power is accepted in society through the idea that within knowledge lies truth. Truth, to Foucault is what induces ...

Different social theories claim that every behavior can be modified to a better one. Panopticism is one of these theories, which has its origins in the book “Discipline and Punish” by Michel Foucault. The french philosopher spent a lot of years examining human behaviors and trying to find ways how to improve it, make it better and easier for others to understand. He collected his knowledge in the book and presented it to society, which should change after got acquainted with the message of the book. He used the panopticon to illustrate the tendency of subjugating citizens by disciplinary ...

1.Michel Foucault distinguishes between Sovereign Power and Disciplinary Power. (a)What are the essential elements of each type of power? (b) How would Foucault interpret Weber’s distinction between Catholicism and Calvinism? (c) How would Foucault assess Durkheim’s distinction between Mechanical Solidarity and Organic Solidarity? Michel Foucault’s philosophy is directly related to the concepts of power and security within a society. As such, Foucault frequently discusses the ways in which individuals should be punished for crimes against their society, and the parties that should be responsible for said punishment. The two chief types of power Foucault defines ...

The Concept of Docile Bodies

Foucault defined docile bodies as flexible objects upon which disciplinary forces are acted, with each object being a node in an intricate and complicated field where power is arranged as well as controlled. In expanding on the concept of docile bodies, Foucault relied on the case of soldiers and their adaptability to the conditions imposed on them which makes them be recognized through their marching, the alert manner in which they behaved - erect head and the broad shoulders. This implies that even the recruits would be trained on how to acquire characteristics of a soldier making them able ...

The text authored by Sommerville expounds on the historical and current use of the term queer in society. The term itself is relatively new, and it is stated that it only first appeared in the English language in the late 16th century and possibly borrowed from other German words.(188). The word, in my mind, as I have heard used is usually in two contexts. The first defines anything that deviates away from the norm and typically has no negative connotation. The second definition and relevant in this text study are its use in a derogatory manner to refer ...

Introduction

The Foucauldian theory of Discourse has been an influential tool used by many organizations in shaping and enhancing the understanding on power. The theory has assisted many organizations to deviate from assessments of power from different actors who perceive the same as a coercion instrument. The Foucauldian theory of discourse additionally drives people away from the discreet operational structures of the actors and tries to make them understand that power is equally distributed, embodied and diffused in discourse, regimes of truth and knowledge. According to Michel Foucault, power operates on other levels and makes up who we are. Foucault's ...

COMPARISION BETWEEN THE UTILITY OF WALLERSTEIN’S WORLD SYSTEM THEORY AND FOCAULT’S THREE UNDERSTANDINGS OF POWER

The world systems by Immanuel Wallenstein and Michel Foucault’s three understandings of power are some of the most important theories that explain power differences among nations (Polat 2012). Their relevance to international relations is that these schools of thought all endeavor to explain reasons why there is power imbalance among world nations in their trade and political relations with one another. According to the world system’s theory, there is need to have a holistic study of the entire world economy as a system in order to understand how each country fits into the whole world system.

Meaning of Power

The ...

In the article entitled, “Remarks on Mediation and Production,” the authors Soren Andreasen and Lars Bang Larsen make their remark on the currently perceived role and suggested future role of middlemen. Note that these two authors are seasoned artists, writers, critics, and curators. Being middlemen, themselves, the two authors aim to defend the idea that middlemen play a more significant role in shaping the style of production – that middlemen help bring modernity and creativity in the style of production.

Outlining the said article, Andreasena nd Larsen first defined what they mean by the term, “middleman.” Accordingly, they have defined ...

Language as discourse started with post-structuralist philosopher Michel Foucault, who wanted to understand the relationship between language, social institutions, subjectivity, and power (Weedon, 1997; Bryson, 2003; Mansfield, 2000). Foucault looked specifically at how bodies, in everyday situations, perform their gender category, their class position and their place in culture (such as sexual orientation, normative standards of beauty and mental health). Foucault also looked at how something comes to be true by looking at the political and economic institutions that produce truth (Schirato, Danaher & Webb, 2012) Foucault (1980a) argues that as peoplewe acquire language theywe learn the way how ...

Crimes are rampant today and laws have been implicated to prevent crime and impose regulations in a nation. Many laws have been reformed from brutal tortures to a lighter punishment which is imprisoning the law breakers. Even if this is more humane than the previous punishments, prison is still criticized by many. Michel Foucault was one who criticized imprisonment in his book ‘Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison’. He discusses the disciplinary power and its difference from the sovereign power of the state. In his book, he discusses a prison, Panopticon, of Illinois State Penitentiary. His idea was adopted in ...

CULTURAL POLITICS

V92CUP The Contestation of Power within Modern Day Belly Dance: A Cultural Politics Approach Introduction The origins and purpose of belly dance have no clear historical background. However, it has a very strong root from the Middle East and has spread into the Western world today. More and more women are getting involved in this dance as they try to embrace their feminine essence. Unfortunately, due to its historical background, belly dance has a negative connotation to it because of the erotic attachment behind its dance movement. Despite the said fact, men and even women would still spend money ...

Orientalism encompasses an academic discourse featuring a patronizing attitude by Westerners towards Asian and African societies. The West perceives Asian and African societies as undeveloped and static and in this way, creates a fallacious oriental culture by which Asians and Africans can be studied, shown and reproduced. On the other hand, in this fabrication by the Westerners, the West is taken to be developed, flexible, dynamic and superior. An etiological analysis of this term will suffice. Orientalism finds its origins in the word “Orient” which translates to the East, as seen by the West. Further, the term Orient has its origins ...

Paul Michel Foucault is a renowned scholar of philosophy and psychology. He also participated in several political activities and visited several countries. Foucault also visited prisons in France and America and developed his analytical approach about the conditions of prisons. He wrote about this issue thoroughly and in his book Discipline and Punish discusses several practical aspects of the issue. His influence is widely visible in America and after the incidents like 9/11 his relevancy has been accepted even by those who use to criticize his opinions. This paper discusses Foucault’s theory of Panopticism and several other aspects of ...