Critically Discuss Foucault’s Notion of Power and Knowledge?
Critically discuss Foucault’s notion of power and knowledge?
Michel Foucault is the one of the first contemporary social theorists. Born in France, he was, like most sociologists of his time, involved when students heavily revolted against the people in power in May 1968.He was not only a sociologist, but also worked in a range of fields: history, philosophy and psychology. His key works include Madness and Civilisation (1961), The Order of Things (1966), Discipline and Punishment (1975) and History of Sexuality (1976-1984) Foucault’s later works which are most adorned by his followers. This essay will mainly follow his genealogical work on power and knowledge and his belief that there is not one without the other. In his works discipline and punishment and the history of sexuality, by looking into these works the essay will try and following key points where the relationship of power and knowledge have been seen to take place. Also throughout this essay I will look at the flaws within Foucault’s work and what other theorists made of his work. It is through these points in history and critiques that this essay will get a well-rounded view of his notion on knowledge and power.
Firstly, it is important to understand where Foucault’s work on knowledge and power started and how his language had changed towards his work. In his early work Foucault used the concept of episteme. Episteme means the historical preconditions that grounds knowledge and its discourse, therefore representing the framework in within any given epoch. The word ‘discourse’ in this explanation is also very important in Foucault’s work; it means what makes up a human experience within society. It includes one’s biology, culture and at what point in history one was born, and all of these factors that manipulate one’s standpoint in society. However, this idea of episteme he found to be very circular because it has no distinctive end and he found the notion very redundant for the purpose of
Michel Foucault is the one of the first contemporary social theorists. Born in France, he was, like most sociologists of his time, involved when students heavily revolted against the people in power in May 1968.He was not only a sociologist, but also worked in a range of fields: history, philosophy and psychology. His key works include Madness and Civilisation (1961), The Order of Things (1966), Discipline and Punishment (1975) and History of Sexuality (1976-1984) Foucault’s later works which are most adorned by his followers. This essay will mainly follow his genealogical work on power and knowledge and his belief that there is not one without the other. In his works discipline and punishment and the history of sexuality, by looking into these works the essay will try and following key points where the relationship of power and knowledge have been seen to take place. Also throughout this essay I will look at the flaws within Foucault’s work and what other theorists made of his work. It is through these points in history and critiques that this essay will get a well-rounded view of his notion on knowledge and power.
Firstly, it is important to understand where Foucault’s work on knowledge and power started and how his language had changed towards his work. In his early work Foucault used the concept of episteme. Episteme means the historical preconditions that grounds knowledge and its discourse, therefore representing the framework in within any given epoch. The word ‘discourse’ in this explanation is also very important in Foucault’s work; it means what makes up a human experience within society. It includes one’s biology, culture and at what point in history one was born, and all of these factors that manipulate one’s standpoint in society. However, this idea of episteme he found to be very circular because it has no distinctive end and he found the notion very redundant for the purpose of