Lecture 7 - foucault on Power Flashcards
(18 cards)
Critical theory
Political philosophy as a branch of social philosophy, political philosopher as cartographer of the present.
Michel Foucault
French political philosopher (1926-1984).
Traditional view
Knowledge and power are opposed. Conflicts of interest.
Foucault’s view
Knowledge and power presuppose each other. Knowledge infroms the exercise of power + power facilitates the acquistion of knowledge
4 wrong assumptions about power
- Power is bad
- Power is a resource
- Power prohibits
- Power is exercised by the State
Foucault’s 3 typologies of power
- Power is everywhere
- Power is productive
- Power is reversible
Wrong assumption: power is bad
No, power is productive and can be legitimate. There is no power free society possible.
Wrong assumption: Power is a resource
No, power is a relation. There is no stable ‘possession’ of power. Possessive theory of power.
Wrong assumption: power prohibits
No, power is also productive (empowerment). Contra psychology and sexual liveration movement (prohibitive theory of power)
Wrong assumption: power is exercised by the state
No, also private agents exercise power. For example a doctor. (Juridical theory of power)
Power is everywhere
Not localized in the stat apparatus, but spread out across society. Think of micro-power-relations.
Power is productive
Power-relations produce knowledge and subjectivity. Power not only prohibits but also incites.
Power is reversible
Wherever there is power, there is resistance. Power versus domination.
2 kinds of power-relations
- Sovereign power
- Modern biopower
2a. Disciplinary power
2b. Biopolitical power
Sovereign power
Power to decide over the life or death of its subjects. Feudal relations, the structure of medieval European society. State did not exist, power of the king to expose subjects to death.
Power to make die or let live
Sovereign power
Power to make live or let die
Modern biopower
The aim of modern biopower
Normalization, it controls life through institutions, norms and knowledge systems. For example: medicine, education, public health.
