Foucault and critique: Deploying agency against autonomy

Political Theory

Volumn 27, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 65-84

  Bevir, Mark ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0033479313     PISSN: 00905917     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0090591799027001004     Document Type: Review

References (81)

1. M. Foucault, "An Aesthetics of Existence," in Politics, Philosophy, Culture: Interviews and Other Writings, 1977-1984, ed. L. Kritzman (London: Routledge, 1988), 50.
2. M. Foucault, "The Subject and Power," in Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics, ed. H. Dreyfus and P. Rabinow (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982), 209, 208.
3. See M. Foucault, "What Is an Author?" in Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected Interviews and Essays, ed. D. Bouchard (Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell, 1977), 113-38; and, on the historical context of the idea of the subject, M. Foucault, The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences (London: Tavistock, 1970).
4. See M. Foucault, "What Is an Author?" in Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected Interviews and Essays, ed. D. Bouchard (Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell, 1977), 113-38; and, on the historical context of the idea of the subject, M. Foucault, The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences (London: Tavistock, 1970).
5. M. Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, trans. A. Sheridan Smith (London: Tavistock, 1977). He discussed the shift in his work in M. Foucault, "Truth and Power," in Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977, ed. C. Gordon (Brighton, Sussex: Harvester, 1980), 109-33.
6. M. Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, trans. A. Sheridan Smith (London: Tavistock, 1977). He discussed the shift in his work in M. Foucault, "Truth and Power," in Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977, ed. C. Gordon (Brighton, Sussex: Harvester, 1980), 109-33.
7. M. Foucault, "Two Lectures," in Power/Knowledge, 98.
8. Foucault, Discipline and Punish.
9. M. Foucault, The History of Sexuality, vol. 1, An Introduction, trans. R. Hurley (New York: Pantheon, 1978-86).
10. Foucault, "Aesthetics of Existence," 50.
11. Foucault, History of Sexuality, vol. 1, 60.
12. Compare M. Bevir, "The Individual and Society," Political Studies 44 (1996): 102-14.
13. See, respectively, R. Rorty, "Postmodernist Bourgeois Liberalism," Journal of Philosophy 80 (1983): 583-9; and M. Sandel, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1982). Of course, even where American philosophers such as Rorty agree with Foucault, there are important differences in their styles, and so perhaps content. Moreover, similar differences of style distance Foucault's own work from my treatment of it.
14. See, respectively, R. Rorty, "Postmodernist Bourgeois Liberalism," Journal of Philosophy 80 (1983): 583-9; and M. Sandel, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1982). Of course, even where American philosophers such as Rorty agree with Foucault, there are important differences in their styles, and so perhaps content. Moreover, similar differences of style distance Foucault's own work from my treatment of it.
15. If power denotes an opposition to autonomy, perhaps we should question the appropriateness of using a term as loaded as "power" to denote what might seem more akin to a neutral social influence. On the advantages of Foucault's use of the term power, see D. Hoy, "Power, Repression, Progress: Foucault, Lukes, and the Frankfurt School," in Foucault: A Critical Reader, ed. D. Hoy (Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell, 1986), 123-47.
16. Although numerous commentators have argued Foucault's work presupposes a sort of individualism, and, of course, one could try to unpack such individualism in terms of agency. On the individualism of Foucault's work, see, for example, F. Lentricchia, Ariel and the Police: Michel Foucault, William James, Wallace Stevens (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988), particularly 20-30.
17. See, respectively, M. Foucault, "Governmentality," in The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, ed. G. Burchell, C. Gordon, and P. Miller (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1991); and M. Foucault, "The Ethic of the Care for the Self as a Practice of Freedom," in The Final Foucault, ed. J. Bernauer and D. Rasmussen (Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1988), 1-20.
18. See, respectively, M. Foucault, "Governmentality," in The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, ed. G. Burchell, C. Gordon, and P. Miller (London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1991); and M. Foucault, "The Ethic of the Care for the Self as a Practice of Freedom," in The Final Foucault, ed. J. Bernauer and D. Rasmussen (Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1988), 1-20.
19. His first significant account of genealogy was M. Foucault, "Nietzsche, Genealogy, History," in Language, Counter-Memory, 139-64. Earlier he had described his approach as archaeology, on which, see M. Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge, trans. A. Sheridan Smith (New York: Pantheon, 1972).
20. His first significant account of genealogy was M. Foucault, "Nietzsche, Genealogy, History," in Language, Counter-Memory, 139-64. Earlier he had described his approach as archaeology, on which, see M. Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge, trans. A. Sheridan Smith (New York: Pantheon, 1972).
21. See, in particular, for genealogical studies, Foucault, Discipline and Punish; and Foucault, History of Sexuality, vol. 1; and, for an archaeological one, M. Foucault, Madness and Civilisation: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, trans. R. Howard (London: Tavistock, 1965).
22. See, in particular, for genealogical studies, Foucault, Discipline and Punish; and Foucault, History of Sexuality, vol. 1; and, for an archaeological one, M. Foucault, Madness and Civilisation: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, trans. R. Howard (London: Tavistock, 1965).
23. See, in particular, for genealogical studies, Foucault, Discipline and Punish; and Foucault, History of Sexuality, vol. 1; and, for an archaeological one, M. Foucault, Madness and Civilisation: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason, trans. R. Howard (London: Tavistock, 1965).
24. See Foucault, History of Sexuality, vol. 1, particularly 5-13.
25. See, among many, J. Habermas, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1987), 266-93; N. Fraser, "Foucault on Modern Power: Empirical Insights and Normative Confusions," in Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse and Gender in Contemporary Social Theory (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1989); M. Philp, "Foucault on Power: A Problem in Radical Translation?" Political Theory 11 (1983): 29-52; and C. Taylor, "Foucault on Freedom and Truth," in Philosophical Papers, vol. 2, Philosophy and the Human Sciences (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 152-84. For a different critique of Foucault, based on a Derridean position, see T. Keenan, "The 'Paradox' of Knowledge and Power: Reading Foucault on a Bias," Political Theory 15 (1987): 5-32.
26. See, among many, J. Habermas, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1987), 266-93; N. Fraser, "Foucault on Modern Power: Empirical Insights and Normative Confusions," in Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse and Gender in Contemporary Social Theory (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1989); M. Philp, "Foucault on Power: A Problem in Radical Translation?" Political Theory 11 (1983): 29-52; and C. Taylor, "Foucault on Freedom and Truth," in Philosophical Papers, vol. 2, Philosophy and the Human Sciences (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 152-84. For a different critique of Foucault, based on a Derridean position, see T. Keenan, "The 'Paradox' of Knowledge and Power: Reading Foucault on a Bias," Political Theory 15 (1987): 5-32.
27. See, among many, J. Habermas, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1987), 266-93; N. Fraser, "Foucault on Modern Power: Empirical Insights and Normative Confusions," in Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse and Gender in Contemporary Social Theory (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1989); M. Philp, "Foucault on Power: A Problem in Radical Translation?" Political Theory 11 (1983): 29-52; and C. Taylor, "Foucault on Freedom and Truth," in Philosophical Papers, vol. 2, Philosophy and the Human Sciences (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 152-84. For a different critique of Foucault, based on a Derridean position, see T. Keenan, "The 'Paradox' of Knowledge and Power: Reading Foucault on a Bias," Political Theory 15 (1987): 5-32.
28. See, among many, J. Habermas, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1987), 266-93; N. Fraser, "Foucault on Modern Power: Empirical Insights and Normative Confusions," in Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse and Gender in Contemporary Social Theory (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1989); M. Philp, "Foucault on Power: A Problem in Radical Translation?" Political Theory 11 (1983): 29-52; and C. Taylor, "Foucault on Freedom and Truth," in Philosophical Papers, vol. 2, Philosophy and the Human Sciences (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 152-84. For a different critique of Foucault, based on a Derridean position, see T. Keenan, "The 'Paradox' of Knowledge and Power: Reading Foucault on a Bias," Political Theory 15 (1987): 5-32.
29. See, among many, J. Habermas, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1987), 266-93; N. Fraser, "Foucault on Modern Power: Empirical Insights and Normative Confusions," in Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse and Gender in Contemporary Social Theory (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1989); M. Philp, "Foucault on Power: A Problem in Radical Translation?" Political Theory 11 (1983): 29-52; and C. Taylor, "Foucault on Freedom and Truth," in Philosophical Papers, vol. 2, Philosophy and the Human Sciences (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 152-84. For a different critique of Foucault, based on a Derridean position, see T. Keenan, "The 'Paradox' of Knowledge and Power: Reading Foucault on a Bias," Political Theory 15 (1987): 5-32.
30. See, among many, J. Habermas, The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1987), 266-93; N. Fraser, "Foucault on Modern Power: Empirical Insights and Normative Confusions," in Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse and Gender in Contemporary Social Theory (Cambridge, UK: Polity, 1989); M. Philp, "Foucault on Power: A Problem in Radical Translation?" Political Theory 11 (1983): 29-52; and C. Taylor, "Foucault on Freedom and Truth," in Philosophical Papers, vol. 2, Philosophy and the Human Sciences (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985), 152-84. For a different critique of Foucault, based on a Derridean position, see T. Keenan, "The 'Paradox' of Knowledge and Power: Reading Foucault on a Bias," Political Theory 15 (1987): 5-32.
31. Attempts to defend objectivity without adopting universalism include R. Bernstein, Beyond Objectivism and Relativism: Science, Hermeneutics, and Praxis (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983); and M. Bevir, "Objectivity in History," History and Theory 33 (1994): 328-44.
32. Attempts to defend objectivity without adopting universalism include R. Bernstein, Beyond Objectivism and Relativism: Science, Hermeneutics, and Praxis (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983); and M. Bevir, "Objectivity in History," History and Theory 33 (1994): 328-44.
33. Compare Fraser's conclusion that "what Foucault needs, and needs desperately, are normative criteria for distinguishing acceptable from unacceptable forms of power." Fraser, "Foucault on Modern Power," 33.
34. Foucault, Discipline and Punish. This criticism is raised by P. Dews, Logics of Disintegration: Post-structuralist Thought and the Claims of Critical Theory (London: Verso, 1987), 188.
35. Foucault, Discipline and Punish. This criticism is raised by P. Dews, Logics of Disintegration: Post-structuralist Thought and the Claims of Critical Theory (London: Verso, 1987), 188.
36. Foucault, "Governmentality." Also see M. Foucault, "Politics and Reason," in Politics, Philosophy, Culture, 57-85.
37. Foucault, "Governmentality." Also see M. Foucault, "Politics and Reason," in Politics, Philosophy, Culture, 57-85.
38. Foucault, Power/Knowledge, 186.
39. Foucault, "The Subject and Power," 214.
40. Ibid., 220.
41. Ibid.
42. Ibid., 221.
43. Ibid.
44. If we use the concept of power to indicate the impossibility of autonomy, as I think Foucault does, then we will say that because power is ubiquitous, it is morally neutral. See, for example, Foucault, "Truth and Power," 131-3. If, however, we use the concept of power to refer to a form of social influence that recognises the agency of the other, as I suggest Foucault also does, then we can make normative distinctions between power and things such as violence. There is nothing pernicious, therefore, in the fact that Foucault uses the term power ambiguously in an ethically neutral and also an ethically charged way. Contrast R. Rorty, "Moral Identity and Private Autonomy," in Michel Foucault Philosophe: Recontre Internationale Paris, 9, 10, 11 Janvier 1988, ed. G. Canguilhem (Paris: Seuil, 1989), 388.
45. If we use the concept of power to indicate the impossibility of autonomy, as I think Foucault does, then we will say that because power is ubiquitous, it is morally neutral. See, for example, Foucault, "Truth and Power," 131-3. If, however, we use the concept of power to refer to a form of social influence that recognises the agency of the other, as I suggest Foucault also does, then we can make normative distinctions between power and things such as violence. There is nothing pernicious, therefore, in the fact that Foucault uses the term power ambiguously in an ethically neutral and also an ethically charged way. Contrast R. Rorty, "Moral Identity and Private Autonomy," in Michel Foucault Philosophe: Recontre Internationale Paris, 9, 10, 11 Janvier 1988, ed. G. Canguilhem (Paris: Seuil, 1989), 388.
46. Foucault, "Ethic of Care," 18.
47. See, in particular, the essays collected in I. Diamond and L. Quinby, eds., Feminism and Foucault: Reflections on Resistance (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1988).
48. Foucault, "Ethic of Care," 20.
49. Foucault, History of Sexuality, vol. 1. Here Foucault can seem to be following a number of New Left thinkers, most notably H. Marcuse, "Repressive Tolerance," in A Critique of Pure Tolerance, ed. R. Wolff and B. Moore, Jr. (Boston: Beacon, 1965), 81-117. What distinguishes Foucault from these other thinkers is, however, his - I think admirable - refusal to postulate a given human nature to be liberated from repression.
50. Foucault, History of Sexuality, vol. 1. Here Foucault can seem to be following a number of New Left thinkers, most notably H. Marcuse, "Repressive Tolerance," in A Critique of Pure Tolerance, ed. R. Wolff and B. Moore, Jr. (Boston: Beacon, 1965), 81-117. What distinguishes Foucault from these other thinkers is, however, his - I think admirable - refusal to postulate a given human nature to be liberated from repression.
51. Foucault, "The Subject and Power," 216.
52. Foucault, History of Sexuality, vol. 2, The Use of Pleasure, and vol. 3, The Care of the Self.
53. Foucault, History of Sexuality, vol. 2, The Use of Pleasure, and vol. 3, The Care of the Self.
54. Foucault, History of Sexuality, vol. 2, The Use of Pleasure, and vol. 3, The Care of the Self.
55. Foucault, "Aesthetics of Existence," 49.
56. Contrast Rorty, "Moral Identity," 390; and, more generally, R. Rorty, Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989).
57. Contrast Rorty, "Moral Identity," 390; and, more generally, R. Rorty, Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989).
58. "Liberty is the ontological condition of ethics. But ethics is the deliberate form taken by liberty." Foucault, "Ethic of Care," 4.
59. Ibid., 11.
60. "The critical ontology of ourselves has to be considered as an attitude, an ethos, a philosophical life in which the critique of what we are is at one and the same time the historical analysis of the limits that are imposed on us and an experiment with the possibility of going beyond them." M. Foucault, "What Is Enlightenment?" in The Foucault Reader, ed. P. Rabinow (Harmondsworth, NY: Penguin, 1984), 50.
61. For the ensuing criticisms, see especially Habermas, Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, particularly 266-93. Also see, for the first one, R. Wolin, "Foucault's Aesthetic Decisionism," Telos 67 (1986): 71-86; and, for the second one, D. Hiley, "Foucault and the Question of Enlightenment," Philosophy and Social Criticism 11 (1985): 63-84.
62. For the ensuing criticisms, see especially Habermas, Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, particularly 266-93. Also see, for the first one, R. Wolin, "Foucault's Aesthetic Decisionism," Telos 67 (1986): 71-86; and, for the second one, D. Hiley, "Foucault and the Question of Enlightenment," Philosophy and Social Criticism 11 (1985): 63-84.
63. For the ensuing criticisms, see especially Habermas, Philosophical Discourse of Modernity, particularly 266-93. Also see, for the first one, R. Wolin, "Foucault's Aesthetic Decisionism," Telos 67 (1986): 71-86; and, for the second one, D. Hiley, "Foucault and the Question of Enlightenment," Philosophy and Social Criticism 11 (1985): 63-84.
64. See, respectively, M. Foucault, "A Preface to Transgression," in Language, Counter-Memory, 29-52, and Foucault, "What Is Enlightenment?"
65. See, respectively, M. Foucault, "A Preface to Transgression," in Language, Counter-Memory, 29-52, and Foucault, "What Is Enlightenment?"
66. Foucault, "What Is Enlightenment?" 46.
67. Foucault, "Aesthetics of Existence," 49.
68. Compare, for example, W. Connolly, "Beyond Good and Evil: The Ethical Sensibility of Michel Foucault," Political Theory 21 (1993): 365-89; and L. Thiele, "The Agony of Politics: The Nietzschean Roots of Foucault's Thought," American Political Science Review 84 (1990): 907-25.
69. Compare, for example, W. Connolly, "Beyond Good and Evil: The Ethical Sensibility of Michel Foucault," Political Theory 21 (1993): 365-89; and L. Thiele, "The Agony of Politics: The Nietzschean Roots of Foucault's Thought," American Political Science Review 84 (1990): 907-25.
70. Foucault, "Aesthetics of Existence," 310-12.
71. T. Dumm, Michel Foucault and the Politics of Freedom (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1996); J. Simon, Foucault and the Political (London: Routledge, 1995); and D. Halperin, Saint Foucault: Toward a Gay Hagiography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995).
72. T. Dumm, Michel Foucault and the Politics of Freedom (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1996); J. Simon, Foucault and the Political (London: Routledge, 1995); and D. Halperin, Saint Foucault: Toward a Gay Hagiography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995).
73. T. Dumm, Michel Foucault and the Politics of Freedom (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1996); J. Simon, Foucault and the Political (London: Routledge, 1995); and D. Halperin, Saint Foucault: Toward a Gay Hagiography (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995).
74. Foucault explains: Transgression does not seek to oppose one thing to another, nor does it achieve its purpose through mockery or by upsetting the solidity of foundations. . . . Its role is to measure the excessive distance that it opens at the heart of the limit and to trace the flashing line that causes that limit to arise. Transgression contains nothing negative, but it affirms limited being - affirms the limitlessness into which it leaps as it opens this zone of existence for the first time. But correspondingly, this affirmation contains nothing positive: no content can bind it, since, by definition, no limit can possibly restrict it. M. Foucault, "Preface to Transgression," 35-6.
75. See, for example, G. Kateb, The Inner Ocean: Individualism and Democratic Culture (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992); and R. Flathmann, Wilful Liberalism: Voluntarism and Individuality in Political Theory and Practice (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992).
76. See, for example, G. Kateb, The Inner Ocean: Individualism and Democratic Culture (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992); and R. Flathmann, Wilful Liberalism: Voluntarism and Individuality in Political Theory and Practice (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992).
77. See, respectively, G. Canquilhem, "On Historie de la Folie as an Event," trans. A. Hobart, Critical Inquiry 21 (1995): particularly 285-6; G. Gutting, Michel Foucault's Archaeology of Scientific Reason (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989); and Dreyfus and Rabinow, Michel Foucault. 51. On continuity, see T. Flynn, "Foucault as Parrhesiast: His Last Course at the College de France," in The Final Foucault, ed. Bernauer and Rasmussen. On discontinuity, see P. Dews, "The Return of the Subject in Late Foucault," Radical Philosophy 51 (1989): 37-41.
78. See, respectively, G. Canquilhem, "On Historie de la Folie as an Event," trans. A. Hobart, Critical Inquiry 21 (1995): particularly 285-6; G. Gutting, Michel Foucault's Archaeology of Scientific Reason (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989); and Dreyfus and Rabinow, Michel Foucault. 51. On continuity, see T. Flynn, "Foucault as Parrhesiast: His Last Course at the College de France," in The Final Foucault, ed. Bernauer and Rasmussen. On discontinuity, see P. Dews, "The Return of the Subject in Late Foucault," Radical Philosophy 51 (1989): 37-41.
79. See, respectively, G. Canquilhem, "On Historie de la Folie as an Event," trans. A. Hobart, Critical Inquiry 21 (1995): particularly 285-6; G. Gutting, Michel Foucault's Archaeology of Scientific Reason (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989); and Dreyfus and Rabinow, Michel Foucault. 51. On continuity, see T. Flynn, "Foucault as Parrhesiast: His Last Course at the College de France," in The Final Foucault, ed. Bernauer and Rasmussen. On discontinuity, see P. Dews, "The Return of the Subject in Late Foucault," Radical Philosophy 51 (1989): 37-41.
80. See, respectively, G. Canquilhem, "On Historie de la Folie as an Event," trans. A. Hobart, Critical Inquiry 21 (1995): particularly 285-6; G. Gutting, Michel Foucault's Archaeology of Scientific Reason (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989); and Dreyfus and Rabinow, Michel Foucault. 51. On continuity, see T. Flynn, "Foucault as Parrhesiast: His Last Course at the College de France," in The Final Foucault, ed. Bernauer and Rasmussen. On discontinuity, see P. Dews, "The Return of the Subject in Late Foucault," Radical Philosophy 51 (1989): 37-41.
81. See, respectively, G. Canquilhem, "On Historie de la Folie as an Event," trans. A. Hobart, Critical Inquiry 21 (1995): particularly 285-6; G. Gutting, Michel Foucault's Archaeology of Scientific Reason (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1989); and Dreyfus and Rabinow, Michel Foucault. 51. On continuity, see T. Flynn, "Foucault as Parrhesiast: His Last Course at the College de France," in The Final Foucault, ed. Bernauer and Rasmussen. On discontinuity, see P. Dews, "The Return of the Subject in Late Foucault," Radical Philosophy 51 (1989): 37-41.