The Interplay Of Power Knowledge And The Self Subject And The Art Of Telling The Truth In Michel Foucault

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the 20th century, , language: English, abstract: It is quite interesting to notice that as Foucault re-imagined his entire intellectual endeavour, he rightly elevated one aspect of his interest to the heart of the entire problematic whether it be his study of knowledge or power or even human behaviour – and that is the problem of subject. Though an idea of a ‘passive subject’ is implicit in his early studies, as they deal with the discursive formations and power, it is only in Foucault’s later writings that ‘subject’ emerges as the major concern. Subject here becomes central to one function that is the function of “telling the truth,’ especially, in a historical formation in which ‘truth’ is something that is granted and is produced in an environment of inter-related discursive and non-discursive systems.

"It has become fashionable in certain intellectual circles to trace our present of alternative facts and denialism back to Foucault and what critics claim to be the way he undermines the stable notion of truth. In The Force of Truth, Daniele Lorenzini explains why this understanding of Foucault stems from a fundamental misreading of his work. Foucault was not interested in defining what truth is, nor in elaborating or defending a specific theory of truth. Instead, Lorenzini shows, Foucault's project of a history of truth aims to trace the genealogy of the main regimes of truth that have emerged throughout human history and are relevant for us today. In this fundamental re-reading of Foucault's critical project as a whole, The Force of Truth provides a new understanding of Foucault's history of truth and a clear statement on one of the most pressing matters concerning Foucault's legacy. Foucault does not reduce the question of truth to a purely logical or epistemological question, or to the philosophical task of elaborating a definition or theory of truth; he constantly asks us to be surprised by the proliferation of true discourses throughout human history, and never to take for granted their emergence and existence"--

Michel Foucault has become famous for a series of books that have permanently altered our understanding of many institutions of Western society. He analyzed mental institutions in the remarkable Madness and Civilization; hospitals in The Birth of the Clinic; prisons in Discipline and Punish; and schools and families in The History of Sexuality. But the general reader as well as the specialist is apt to miss the consistent purposes that lay behind these difficult individual studies, thus losing sight of the broad social vision and political aims that unified them. Now, in this superb set of essays and interviews, Foucault has provided a much-needed guide to Foucault. These pieces, ranging over the entire spectrum of his concerns, enabled Foucault, in his most intimate and accessible voice, to interpret the conclusions of his research in each area and to demonstrate the contribution of each to the magnificent -- and terrifying -- portrait of society that he was patiently compiling. For, as Foucault shows, what he was always describing was the nature of power in society; not the conventional treatment of power that concentrates on powerful individuals and repressive institutions, but the much more pervasive and insidious mechanisms by which power "reaches into the very grain of individuals, touches their bodies and inserts itself into their actions and attitudes, their discourses, learning processes and everyday lives" Foucault's investigations of prisons, schools, barracks, hospitals, factories, cities, lodgings, families, and other organized forms of social life are each a segment of one of the most astonishing intellectual enterprises of all time -- and, as this book proves, one which possesses profound implications for understanding the social control of our bodies and our minds.

Public reasoning, a manner of democratic deliberation that can generate meaningful conceptions of justice, the collective good, and other unifying political values among individuals subscribing to varied and contrasting doctrines, has been a perennial concern among political philosophers from historical thinkers such as Immanuel Kant to contemporary theorists like John Rawls and Jurgen Habermas. In this ambitious study, Mark Redhead explores versions of public reasoning in the works of six of the most important voices in contemporary political theory; Alasdair MacIntyre, Charles Taylor, Hannah Arendt, Seyla Benhabib, Michel Foucault, and William E. Connolly. He identifies an important but as of yet unappreciated version of public reasoning--, one that provides creative and effective responses to questions at the forefront of liberal democratic political thought: human rights, secularity, and global governance.

Scientific Essay from the year 2010 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the 20th century, , language: English, abstract: the present study engages with the questions of subject and the activity of truth-telling in the context of the problem of language that frequently appears in Foucault since his appearance in French academics. It asks the questions: what is the mode of existence of language and being in Foucault and how are they related? What is a sign? Can one actually understand a sign in itself? If neither the cogito (I think) can lead to an affirmation of being, nor the affirmation “I speak” has it the autonomy to stand on its own, how one can relate oneself to truth?

Madness, sexuality, power, knowledge—are these facts of life or simply parts of speech? In a series of works of astonishing brilliance, historian Michel Foucault excavated the hidden assumptions that govern the way we live and the way we think. The Archaeology of Knowledge begins at the level of "things aid" and moves quickly to illuminate the connections between knowledge, language, and action in a style at once profound and personal. A summing up of Foucault's own methadological assumptions, this book is also a first step toward a genealogy of the way we live now. Challenging, at times infuriating, it is an absolutey indispensable guide to one of the most innovative thinkers of our time.

This book focuses on Foucault's later work and his (re)turn to 'the hermeneutics of the subject', exploring the implications of his thinking for education, pedagogy, and related disciplines. What and who is the subject of education and what are the forms of self-constitution? Chapters investigate Foucault's notion of 'the culture of self' in relation to questions concerning truth (parrhesia or free speech) and subjectivity, especially with reference to the literary genres of confession and biography, and the contemporary political forms of individualization (governmentality).