Foucault Presentation
Foucault Presentation
Foucault Presentation
Ideology
Marxists and capitalists are polarized over ideology Marxists condemn class domination Capitalists condemn totalitarianism Both ideologies obscure the mechanics of power They focus on the large-scale aspects of power while overlooking the small-scale aspects, which are much more revealing Ideology itself grows out of more fundamental conditions (e.g., economic conditions)
Capitalist Libertarianism
The ideal of capitalist libertarianism is to free the individual to allow maximum self-development It is based on the self as an autonomous agent, whose existence Foucault denies It attempts to make these agents regulate themselves through institutions of discipline It understands power through the institutions of law, which Foucault says obscures small-scale institutions of power
Phenomenology
Phenomenology emphasizes the constituent subject It was a prominent methodology during Foucaults education He rejected transcendental or ahistorical accounts of the constitution of the self The self is constituted through historical events and practices, based on power
Structuralism
Structuralists (especially in linguistics and anthropology) tried to find the underlying structure in all practices and discourse They ignored contingent, historical events Foucault thought that the model for explaining human practices is not symbolic structures such as language, but war The strategic nature of human practices cannot be captured by abstract structures
An Example: Sexuality
Bourgeois society attempts to repress young peoples interest in sex This has the opposite effect of sexualizing everything for them Sexuality is far more of a positive product of power than power was ever repression of sexuality
Problems of Power
The productive power of people is based on regimes of discipline, wherein they are manipulated and conditioned These regimes must be supported administratively This gives rise to problems of demography, public health, hygiene, housing conditions, longevity, and fertility Sexuality is a problem because it lies at the join between discipline of the body and population control