Foucault's Ideas about Power, Knowledge, Disciplinary Society and Governmentality - Literature review Example

Introduction Foucault’s ideas offer one of the most significant vehicles for re-evaluating the enlightenment ideologies of the eighteenth century. Foucault examines a variety of themes concerning the nature of laws that human beings are subjects of and transformations that have shaped modern social settings. Foucault’s contributions can be termed as relevant to issues in contemporary society as result various modern authors also derive their arguments from work. This particular essay is grounded on analyzing some of Foucault’s Ideas, about power, knowledge, the disciplinary society and governmentality. The objective of the essay is basically to provide a contemporary application of Foucault’s ideas to contemporary social life. The works of authors such Kerry Carrington (1993) and Erica Southgate (2003) which will also be evaluated by the essay, provide a broader extension of application of Foucault’s ideologies to modern social issues. When making an evaluation of Foucault’s ideas about knowledge. Barry (2002, p 75) highlights that Foucault’s genealogical analysis of knowledge is based on power knowledge/ relations. He believed that knowledge constitutes a form power. It can be acquired from power and therefore produces rather than prevents it. When linked with power, knowledge gains authority as being the truth and also attains the capability of making itself true. Mills (2003, 65) further highlights that Foucault description of the knowledge/ power relations is that knowledge is a conjunction of power in that it is not possible for knowledge to endanger power and yet again it is impossible for power to be exercised without the integration of knowledge. In order to effectively understand how Foucault uses the notion of knowledge power relations, the most useful criteria is to first evaluate how truth is produced. In order for truth to be produced there is need for making claims that can be justified and sustained. When linked with power, knowledge gains authority as being the truth and also attains the capability of making itself true. When applied in real life, any knowledge causes some change and has the ability to evolve itself into truth ( Mills 2003, 66). In addition in his ideas about knowledge, Foucault re-evaluates what he refers to as “the history of ideas”, pointing out his ideas with regards to how people view their past and recount it to their present. According to Danaher et.al, (2002, 21), Foucault’s ideas present an impression of progress as well as development indicating that knowledge is ever-increasing. Danaher et.al, use an example of the film, “A Space Odyssey” to draw out Foucault’s idea of knowledge as attributed to development which is portrayed by civilization. In his way of thinking, Foucault draws out the ideas and values that frame our present-day societies as well as cultures which can be acknowledged as having taken place sometimes back in history. This implies that the only distinction between the past and present is that our fore bearers had not done something about it, and probably had no much knowledge as we do now. According to Danaher et.al, (2002, 17), Foucault, recognizes three principal epistemes, which in his view, have been in existence over the past 400 years. These include the renaissance, classical as well as the modern. Not any one of these is totally consistent or static, but there exists both continuity as well as discontinuity in them. Foucault also brings to light the fact that knowledge is a type of invention (Irving, 2009, 47). Whereby there are various distinct aspects such as fear, desire instincts and impulses that can be derived from it. Foucault highlights that knowledge is invented when these particular aspects clash. (Requires integration of Southgate, Erica 2003 or Carrington, Kerry 1993). Foucault proposes that power was mainly designed for the purpose managing people as opposed rendering them docile. He further outlines that the role of power is to make people productive through the means of regulating their conduct. The conceptualization of the concept of power by Foucult is actually much more synonymous with sociality or endemic to social life (Barry 2002, 76). In much of Foucault’s analysis of power he does not view power as a destructive tool for promotion of social evils such class struggle and division as Karl Max and other scholars did. Foucault socializes power as a relevant aspect in the running of social institutions. For instance he argues that power is used to make social bodies useful in terms of ensuring that no person in society will end up being an outlaw, rebel or out cast, as a result institutions such as prisons become concerned with rehabilitation and reform and schools can focus on enhancing intense discipline.( Requires integration of Southgate, Erica 2003 or Carrington, Kerry 1993) When evaluating the notion of the disciplinary society, Barry (2002, 91) outlines that the concept of a disciplinary society according to Foucault’s view is often misunderstood due to his claim that societies are often disciplined. Barry highlights that according to Foucault, the concept of a disciplinary society is based the diffusion of mechanisms for discipline through social bodies as opposed development of programs of enhancing the diffusion of discipline in society. Irving (, 2009, 52) further outlines that Foucault’s proposes that in order to enhance the management of normality in society, there is need for adoption of constant surveillance in societal bodies. Foucault also integrates Bentham’s idea of inducing of compliance and surveillance in society referred to as panopticon, which is usually applied in prisons cells. The prison cells are arranged in manner that a central tower for observation is constructed so that inmates can realize that at any given moment they are being watched as result compliance and conformity with social norms becomes an element that is internally habitual (Requires integration of Southgate, Erica 2003 or Carrington, Kerry 1993) On the concept of governmentality, Foucault perceives governmentality as the link between power as the regulation of others, in other terms governmentality to him was the connection between politics and ethics. An individual governs their own personal conduct while the government on the other hand directs the conduct of others (Simons, 2002, 36). To Foucault, good governance was influence by the moral stand of the political ruler. Foucault argues that a good political leader should first learn to morally and economically govern him/ herself and then teach the citizens of rules on how to do the same. To Foucault government is a’’ conduct of conduct ‘’which ranges from self governance to the governance of others. According to Barry (2002, 127 ), Foucault’s ideas on governmentality cover both the individualizing as well as the more centralized authoritarian outcomes of political shrewdness. Foucault reflects on the exercising of power relations related to the federal or centralized state, the challenges of citizenship, pastoral powers applied by welfare state, along with the 17th and s18th century political policies of reason of a state and the police. More over, Foucault argues the challenging of various governments as contributing to ethical practices essential to sovereignty, literally meaning that how individuals guide their own conduct as well as exercising actions upon their own actions. In general, Foucault’s idea of governmentality highlights quite a number of sociology significant concerns. One of the most outstanding is the manner in which governments try to develop an environment where citizens are best suited for the purpose of fulfilling their government policies. Foucault highlights that governments have certain specific ends that can influence whether the society its society will be a contented society or a dissatisfied society. Foucault also associates the concept of governmentality to the capability of an individual to practice self control. As a result his proposal of subjectivation is not a signal that society may not be problematic but rather it displays a sense that the society is disciplined as opposed to being docile. (Charles & James 2008, 1) , Conclusion Foucault’s ideas can be conceptualized as a processes whereby knowledge in addition to power emerge, adding force to each other in order to come up with what he refers as disciplinary society. Foucault, for instance, to some extent, inexplicably, portrayed governmentality as being a conduct of conduct. In this, Foucault implies that the challenges of governmentality deals with the issues with regards to how the peoples’ conducts in addition to others are shaped, directed, as well as being regulated through a succession of practices and related succession of various forms of rationality. Foucault’s ideas can be termed as useful for analyzing issues in modern society some his notions may seem contentious but we can not deny that his contributions reflect real scenario’s in modern society. References Charles , L & James , B, 2008, ‘’A Foucault for the 21st Century: Governmentality, Biopolitics and Discipline in the New Millennium’’ Social theory Forum. University of Massachusetts. Irving , A, 2009, Michel Foucault, Social work theories and methods. Smart , B. (2002).Michel Foucault, Routledge. Mills, S , 2009 , Social work : theories and methods , Routledge . Simons, J , 1995, Foucault & the political Thinking the political, Routledge, . Read More