Foucault

Question 1

What was the main critique in Foucault’s work?

Answer 1

Foucault critiqued traditional doctrines and explored how societal norms are constructed.

Question 2

How does Foucault view power in society?

Answer 2

Power is not static or held by institutions but is a mobile, ever-present force in all human relationships.

Question 3

What does Foucault explore regarding normal and abnormal?

Answer 3

He explores how relationships shape what is considered normal or abnormal and how these concepts are maintained.

Question 4

What is “problematisation” in Foucault’s theory?

Answer 4

It is a method starting with questions from lived experiences rather than pre-existing doctrines.

Question 5

How does problematisation differ from polemics?

Answer 5

Problematisation uses doctrines as a starting point for broader understanding, while polemics approach issues from a single, doctrine-based perspective.

Question 6

How does Foucault define discourse?

Answer 6

Discourse consists of “rules governing the production of statements in a given empirical field at a given time.”

Question 7

What role does discourse play in shaping norms?

Answer 7

Discourse determines what can be said or thought within a context, influencing social norms and categories.

Question 8

What is the “archaeology of knowledge”?

Answer 8

A methodology for studying the history of discourse by analyzing subject positions, theoretical objects, and institutional domains.

Question 9

What are the three elements analyzed in the archaeology of knowledge?

Answer 9

Subject position (who speaks and from what positions), theoretical objects (concepts like madness), and institutional domains (e.g., prisons, hospitals).

Question 10

How did views on madness change during the Middle Ages and Renaissance?

Answer 10

Madness was seen as a human phenomenon with a relation to truth.

Question 11

How was madness perceived during the Enlightenment (Classical Age)?

Answer 11

Madness was viewed as a denial of reason, leading to the confinement of the “unreasonable.”

Question 12

How did modern views on madness differ?

Answer 12

Madness became a therapeutic challenge aimed at creating ‘normal’ and obedient citizens.

Question 13

What was Foucault’s critique of modern views on madness?

Answer 13

He argued that madness challenges normality and that normality should not be the only standard for evaluating madness.

Question 14

What is “disciplinary power”?

Answer 14

A form of power that operates through mechanisms like hierarchical observation, normalizing judgments, and examinations.

Question 15

What is hierarchical observation in disciplinary power?

Answer 15

It involves structures like the panopticon to ensure constant surveillance, inducing self-regulation.

Question 16

What is the function of the panopticon in disciplinary power?

Answer 16

It creates a state of conscious and permanent visibility so that power operates automatically.

Question 17

What are “normalizing judgments”?

Answer 17

Establishing norms to define acceptable and unacceptable behavior, creating a binary of normal versus abnormal.

Question 18

How are examinations used in disciplinary power?

Answer 18

Examinations assess and categorize individuals, producing knowledge and reinforcing power structures.

Question 19

Where does disciplinary power operate beyond prisons?

Answer 19

It operates in schools, factories, and other institutions to produce docile and predictable individuals.

Question 20

What is the “power/knowledge nexus”?

Answer 20

The idea that power and knowledge are interdependent; producing knowledge is an exercise of power, and power influences what is considered knowledge.

Question 21

What are the three types of power identified by Foucault?

Answer 21

Sovereign power (violence and deduction), disciplinary power (surveillance and normalization), and bio-power (population management).

Question 22

What characterizes sovereign power?

Answer 22

Sovereign power is associated with rulers and involves violence and deduction.

Question 23

What is bio-power?

Answer 23

Bio-power manages populations through administration, statistics, and health measures, focusing on improving population life.

Question 24

How does bio-power operate in modern states?

Answer 24

Through biopolitics, which seeks to optimize health and behavior management across populations.

Question 25

What is “governmentality”?

Answer 25

Governmentality refers to the reflection on the best way to govern, structuring the possible fields of action for individuals.

Question 26

What are examples of governmentality in practice?

Answer 26

Public health measures and programs compelling individuals to manage their own bodies and behavior according to specific norms.

Question 27

How does Foucault view power in human relationships?

Answer 27

Power is present in all relationships and is not inherently evil; it can be resisted and questioned.

Question 28

What did Foucault believe about human nature and subjectivity?

Answer 28

He rejected the idea of universal human nature or subjectivity, seeing individuals as shaped by power relations.

Question 29

How can power relations transform into domination?

Answer 29

Power relations become domination when they are blocked and lose their mobility and reversibility.