Analysis of Benthams Panopticon - Essay Example

The solution given is interesting. Plague when it breaks out at a certain territory and the authorities devise plans to counter it. A state of emergency is declared, all the state officials are assigned duties and the victims are excluded from the whole society. They are not allowed to get into connection with any other ‘normal’ person, they being the ‘abnormal’. Measures are taken and data regarding the epidemic, the normal and abnormal is maintained. The victims are kept in separate barracks and they are given the ration after ensuring that connection with them is avoidable. The State officials who did not pay full attention to the commands of the higher authorities are made examples of. Such is the scope of Power that was felt around the corners of the town and the Plague was thus encountered successfully. Bentham’s Panopticon is a machine devised on the same principles.

Bentham shaped this philosophy by giving an architectural shape to it. It was an annular building with a tower at its center. The tower was pierced with windows opening to the inner side of the ring. Round the whole of the building, it was divided into cells. The cells had two windows; on the inside and the outside so that light could travel across easily. A Supervisor was then placed in the central tower. Then different kinds of humans were kept shut up in the cells. These were a madman, a schoolboy, a patient, a worker, etc.

The machine or building was designed so technically that the backlighting allowed only the observer to see all of them and their behaviors under some circumstances while those shut up in the cells were not able to see the observer. The building thus presented a complete laboratory for observing human nature, behavior, action, and reaction under particular circumstances. The purpose of the ‘Panopticon’ is to inject in the inmates of the Panopticon, a sense of surety that they are always under inspection. It makes them conscious of the fact that they are ever visible with their words and deeds and all this assures the smooth functioning of the phenomenon of ‘Power’ (Bentham, p138).

So the functioning of ‘Power’ can be ensured only if there is a quality check without discrimination and with sincerity and justice. ‘Panopticon’ thus presents the structure of a new set of political ideas incorporated into a new system. Its ‘cage cells’, the inmates, the observers, and its powerful and high ‘towers’, which are knowing each and everything about the inmates and their actions, the impartial and speedy observance of justice…. These are all the requisites of that particular political system. This is the revolution Foucault foresees in the machine designed by Bentham.

Foucault here turns the direction of his meditation to a social issue. He views with doubt the ways and procedures adopted at different institutions. Foucault is of the view that the phenomenon of ‘Panopticon’ applies to all institutions, special of which are ‘schools’ that create the future of a nation, ‘factories’ that generate revenue for the nation, ‘hospitals’ which save and safeguard the life of the nation and ‘prisons’ which help in eradicating the crimes from inside and against a nation. He philosophically stresses that the observance of ‘Power’ in the institutes is assured. He answers a query of mind that the ‘Observance’ in ‘Panopticon’ needs to be brought under the limits so that the democratic checks stop any tyranny. For this purpose, he suggests that the ‘observation process is not confined to a certain faction of the people and anyone is allowed to inspect the validity of the ‘Observation’. This will make the whole process reliable before the world.

This is not surprising that “prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks, and hospitals, which all resemble prisons” (Foucault, p201). It is because the phenomenon of the ‘Panopticon’ is not fully applied here. There are observers, the inmates, and the tower but there are probably no observers from the outside for the examination of the inside observers. For instance, the institute of ‘Hospital’ needs to be properly Panopticided. A system of checks and balances will make the doctors feel their responsibilities. The Head person of the hospital here becomes the main observer, the doctors and other staff the inmates, and the hospital is the Panopticon. Space needs to be given for the outside observers to spy on the affairs of the main observer to check any unjust action under his hands and thumbs.

Punishment is the most necessary tool for maintaining good governance. The same is the rule applied here in our institutions thus resembling prisons. It is necessary because it helps create a sense of responsibility. Besides, the punishments reveal that the observation system is fully functional and operational. The system was formulated on the current patterns because there has always been a faction of groups in the society, howsoever civilized the society may be, which hinders the development of peace, happiness, and progress to devise institutions, it was felt necessary that they work like prisons. The methods are still the same because there should be a check and balances in the institutions. What Foucault meant by his understanding of the ‘panopticon’ was that the system needs modification, i.e. the institutions be Panopticized (Foucault, pp 195-228). Read More