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Michel Foucaults Political Philosophy

Written by Mark Kelly on March 31, 2009 10:54 am

No Comment I recently wrote a book about the thought of Michel Foucault. It was published last year under the title The Political Philosophy of Michel Foucault. The book begins with a justification of the use of the term political philosophy in relation to Foucault. The reason for caution about this term is precisely the reason why I think it is justified to use it in the title of the book. That is, the term political philosophy has come to be associated with a form of thought that consists on producing prescriptive views about the ways politics ought to work, as an adjunct to reflection about morality. This form of thinking is anchored primarily in Kant, for whom morals and politics are indissociable, but is of course much older than that, while finding a more recent anchor-point in the work of John Rawls. Foucault fundamentally rejects this form of thought; that is, Foucault rejects prescriptive and normative philosophy tout court. Foucault represents a completely different tradition in philosophy, but one that is no less political. Indeed, one might argue that Foucaults philosophy is much more political certainly I would. While normative political philosophy, as it has been done in recent decades by the scions of Ivy League philosophy departments, has consisted in articulating abstract models of how the world should be, Foucaults political philosophy consists of non-normative descriptions of reality that nevertheless have considerable critical force. Foucaults political philosophy is a philosophy that undertakes the project that the young Karl Marx described as the ruthless criticism of all that exists[i]. The purpose of this critical philosophy of Foucaults is precisely to shut the mouths of all those who would prescribe anything including, perhaps most prominently, Marxists. Foucaults political philosophy begins in a Nietzschean epistemology in which knowledge is formulated as a strategy of a battle between forces. This is the basis for an analysis of specific knowledges as precisely the effects of power relations, to show the genealogy behind institutions of knowledge. Power relations moreover provide a general grid of analysis for society, through the strategies that emerge from the interplay of power relations. Foucault describes these strategies as intentional, yet non-subjective[ii]: Against the strategies of power is arrayed our resistance. This is a resistance that is today however badly undermined by the emergence of a form of power that seizes us in the core of our being, subjection, the investment by power of the formation of our subjectivity itself. Nevertheless, for Foucault, resistance is not merely a permanent possibility, but an inevitable corollary of power. Resistance is presupposed by power: to induce someone to do something implies that they otherwise would have done something else. This means that power can only

occur where there is already an inclination that runs contrary to it. As Foucault puts it, Resistance comes first.[iii] Still, power is ubiquitous, as is resistance animal activity inevitably implies the existence of both, as a matter of some animals trying to get others to conform to their will, and the inevitable excess of the will of the victim over that of the wielder of power. Such considerations inform Foucaults late thought, in which he is concerned with ancient ethics and practices of the self. While new practices of the self are putatively suggested as a corrective for subjection, this is not proposed as an immediate solution. It is unclear for Foucault to what extent ethical practices are possible today. Rather, an orientation towards the self is advised as a way of dealing with the inevitable frustrations of political praxis, though certainly not as an alternative to organised political activity. That said, for Foucault political activity must limit itself. Firstly, a division must be observed between the critical activity of the intellectual and the actions of the masses. Intellectuals like Foucault have a particular responsibility to advise the masses, which means that they should neither attempt to lead the masses or tell them what to do, nor even to join them, but to stand to one side advising them as to the situation through analysis of it, and indeed to criticise the actions of the masses if need be. Note that there is no proper role here for politicians qua leaders Foucault has no advice for such people, but for him the point of mass political activity is to achieve liberation, hence ultimately it is oriented against leadership. However, Foucault is not an anarchist. The central political role of the intellectual is to advise as to the possibilities of political action, though an analysis of the strategies of power. Thus, there must be a decision, made by those who resist but informed by a critical analysis, of what can be achieved and where we should attack. That is, Foucault does not valorise all resistance per se, or condemn all power out of hand: both things are too ubiquitous for such anarchist fantasies to make sense. Rather, anarchism qua opposition to power per se suggests a futile attack on all power simultaneously. While Foucault does not want us ever to accept any power uncritically, we can never be free of power. Thus, we must always question and challenge power, with new problems and new priorities continually emerging in response to our probing resistance. i. Karl Marx, Briefe Aus Den Deutsch-Franzsische Jahrbcher, p. 344 ii. Michel Foucault, The Will to Knowledge, p. 194 iii. Michel Foucault, Sex, Power, and the Politics of Identity, p. 167 Bibliography Foucault, Michel (1997) Sex, Power, and the Politics of Identity in Ethics: Subjectivity and Truth, Penguin: London (1998) The Will to Knowledge, Penguin: London Kelly, Mark G. E. (2008) The Political Philosophy of Michel Foucault, Routledge: New York Marx, Karl (1956) Briefe Aus Den Deutsch-Franzsische Jahrbcher in Karl Marx | Friedrich Engels: Werke 1, ed. Ludwig Arnold, Dietz Verlag: Berlin, 33746

Mark Kelly is Lecturer in Philosophy at the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy at Middlesex University. He is the author of The Political Philosophy of Michel Foucault (Routledge, 2008).

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Definitions of hierarchy on the Web:

a series of ordered groupings of people or things within a system; "put honesty first in her hierarchy of values"

the organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn A hierarchy (hierarchia is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another and with only one "neighbor" above and below each level. ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy A hierarchical organization is an organizational structure where every entity in the organization, except one, is subordinate to a single other ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_(church) In mathematics, a hierarchy is a preorder, i.e. an ordered set. The term is used to stress a natural hierarchical relation among the elements. In particular, it is the preferred terminology for posets whose elements are classes of objects of increasing complexity. ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_(mathematics) In object-oriented programming (OOP), inheritance is a way to form new classes (instances of which are called objects) using classes that have already been defined. Inheritance is intended to help reuse existing code with little or no modification. ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchy_(object-oriented_programming) A body of authoritative officials organized in nested ranks; Any group of objects ranked so that every one but the topmost is subordinate to a specified one above it en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hierarchy hierarchic - hierarchical: classified according to various criteria into successive levels or layers; "it has been said that only a hierarchical society with a ... wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn Hierarchyism is the belief that society requires a symbolic hierarchy, such as a constitutional monarchy, in order to function properly. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchyism hierarchic - hierarchal en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hierarchic Objects can be linked to each other in hierarchical groups. The Parent Object in such groups passes its transformations through to the Child Objects. www.blender.org/documentation/htmlI/g13030.html Slave-like veneration of the seniors and thus verbal or physical submission to them, is common. Abject 'etiquette' required of pledges or subordinates may include prostration, kneeling, literal groveling, kissing/licking/washing (sometimes dirty) feet, footwear or the crotch. hazing.askdefine.com/

A hierarchy is a system of ranking and organising things or people, where each element of the system is subordinate. Many inequalities in our society stem from the fact that most social organisations, such as businesses, churches, workplaces, armies and

political movements are hierarchical. www.autonomousgeographies.org/glossary Skip to main content

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The Hierarchy of Violence in Twelfth- and Thirteenth-Century Canonists James A. Brundage The International History Review, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Nov., 1995), pp. 670-692 (article consists of 23 pages) Published by: The International History Review Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40107438

The Hierarchy of Violence in Twelfth- and Thirteenth-Century Canonists, by James A. Brundage 1995 The International History Review.

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organization of a group into higher and lower levels www.mythencyclopedia.com/Am-Ar/Angels.html A group of people, or things arranged in order of rank or grade. imnh.isu.edu/DIGITALATLAS/glossary/letter.asp

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Language Tools - Search Help - Dissatisfied? Help us improve The original meaning of hierarchy was rule by priests, which usually involved a rigid ordered structure - such as priests, bishops, archbishops. Now it is normally used for anything with an ordered structure. A system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority. A hierarchy is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) The word can also refer to a series of such items so arranged. Items in a hierarchy are thought of typically as including or being "above," included by or being "below," or independent of (being "at the same level as") one another. A hierarchy can link entities either directly or indirectly, and either vertically or horizontally. The only direct links in a hierarchy, insofar as they are hierarchical, are to one's immediate superior or to one of one's subordinates, although a system that is

largely hierarchical can also incorporate other organizational patterns. Indirect hierarchical links can extend "vertically" upwards or downwards via multiple links in the same direction. All parts of the hierarchy which are not linked vertically to one another nevertheless can be "horizontally" linked by traveling up the hierarchy to find a common direct or indirect superior, and then down again. This is akin to two coworkers, neither of whom is the other's boss, but both of whose chains of command will eventually meet. Note: There are comments associated with this question. See the discussion page to add to the conversation.
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