Foucault paper Flashcards
What is the main claim of Foucault?
The panopticon is a model for a disciplinary mechnism that leads to progress
What are the main concepts in the panopticon?
Segregation:
Seperating people into cells which cannot see eachother
Surveillance:
Prisoners can always be watched but they never know when exactly they are being watched. The guards are never visible.
What is foucault’s view on the panopticon?
It is more than a building but it is a disciplinary mechanism (a means to an end)
Why are the plague and Leper mentioned in the text by foucault?
In both cases there was segregation of certain groups. In the plague it was per family per house and for the lepers it was putting them away from society.
Then in both cases surveillance was needed
What else is needed for a working panopticon according to foucault (and the lecture)?
Punishment
Why does foucault state that the panopticon leads to progress?
Work is more efficient, which leads to economic growth (little people needed to discipline and motivate many)
It is a mean to many ends in society
Why can the panopticon be democratic?
People can survey the guards at any moment giving a panopticon in a panopticon.
What is the effect on the prisoners of the panopticon according to foucault?
This results for the prisoners is a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power.
This way they discipline themselves.
