Freud Foucault and Society
Freud Foucault and SocietyAristotle once stated in Metaphysics that, "All men by nature desire Knowledge." If one accepts the claim that knowledge is power, then it will be logical to assert that all people want power. The person or persons that have knowledge also acquire the power of that knowledge. In Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish he clearly shows the power-knowledge relationship that is prevalent in society both on the large and small scale, and how these affect society as a whole. Whereas, Sigmund Freud who has mastered the discipline of psychotherapy, which he uses to help others without this knowledge clearly demonstrates the power of knowledge. In Sigmund Freud's Studies on Hysteria there are studies which show this use of power-knowledge to unlock problems in their mind creating the hysteria for which they suffer. These two authors use their power of knowledge in much the same way by bringing to light the problems that confront the individual. However, they both would have a different point of view on the use of this power.
In Discipline and Punish, Foucault looks to shock the reader and get the attention of the reader immediately with his depiction of torture and death at the outset. This has a compelling effect, and different uses of power. The first one being evident, that is the physical power. The other form of power is not so evident. It is the effect of this power on the mind of the individual. The punishment and extraction of information has gone from being a very physical and public ritual and evolving later to a private ceremony hidden behind walls, and consisting of mental torture. The individual wants to feel that punishment is carried out in some moral way. However, this way is not moral but simply a veil from society's view. This way one can pretend it is not going on.
This book is intended as a correlative history of the modern soul and of a new power to judge; genealogy of the present scientifico-legal complex from which the power to punish derives its bases, justification and rules, from which it extends its effects and by which it masks its exorbitant singularity (Foucault P.23).
Even though the intended use of this power is to punish, it filters itself into everyday life and these turn out to be the rule which society is to live by.
Power in society according to Foucault is power to make people do things, not repress them. The first evidence of this power is within the family. The parents in a family have the power over their children. This is due to two reasons. The first is because they are physically more powerful. The second reason is because they have more knowledge....
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