ipl-logo

Foucault's Discussion Of Panopticism

1186 Words5 Pages

This essay is a summary about the idea and application of Panopticism, and its many

implementations. Firstly, I will be explaining the concept of Panopticism. Next, I will dissect a

few of the reoccurring arguments in the third chapter of Foucault 's Discipline & Punish.

Finally, I will be dissecting some modern examples of Panopticism.

Foucault 's chapter of Panopticism focuses primarily on the power adjustments

implemented when a society works in a Panopticonistic way. The author writes that

“Panopticism is the discipline-mechanism: a functional mechanism that must improve the

exercise of power by making it lighter, more rapid, more effective, a design of subtle coercion

for a society to come” (Foucault 14). This …show more content…

The disciple-blockade is

a societal structure that does anything it can to prevent and detain disorder. At the complete

other end of the disciplinary spectrum, a discipline-mechanism is based on functionality and

effectiveness, with Panopticism at its base. The concept of the discipline-mechanism is

confusing because the discipline-mechanism is based off of Panopticism and yet Panopticism is a discipline-mechanism. The author moves on to delve into the definition of the discipline-

mechanism, saying that it improves the exercises of power by being functional, effective,

rapid, and that it is “a design of subtle coercion to come”. Foucault is saying that a discipline-

mechanism, and therefore Panopticism, has no goals of enhancing the distribution of power

via extravagance or luxury. A discipline-mechanism has only one goal in mind: to make the

use and retention of power more orderly and productive for those who hold it, and to appear

to do the same for those who don 't without informing them of their actual imprisoned and

restricted situation. By mentioning that a discipline-mechanism is “a design of subtle …show more content…

What the author means when he refers to visibility is that

the prisoner must know that he is a prisoner, and that he is not fully in control over himself.

The prisoner must know that there is some sort of higher power in the guard tower, and he

must know that this 'higher power ' might be watching him at any point, which leads me into

discussing the 'unverifiable ' aspect. The unverifiable presence of the guard, or higher power,

leads a prisoner to believe that he may be watched, judged, and corrected at any location in

time. From the 'visible ' aspect, the prisoner knows that there is some form of a more powerful

presence monitoring him, and that it could descend to deliver justice at any point if the

prisoner is up to any wrong-doing. He does not know who this greater presence is, and he

does not know how the presence will deliver justice, whether in a docile or hostile form. Lastly, the prisoner will not know if this more powerful existence is watching him constantly or only

some of the time. Being human, and in being detained, the prisoner will not hesitate to

assume that the being watching him is eternally observing him, because it is

Show More
Related

Panopticism In T4 By Ann Lezotte

267 Words | 2 Pages

Panopticism is the idea of surveillance and operation to gain control. In T4, written by Ann LeZotte, it tells the story of a young girl who is deaf throughout World War II and the separation and institutionalized of the disabled. In T4, the author focuses on how Germany treated the mentally ill and the disabled. Panopticism reflects the ideas of Hitler during the 1938-1940s told through the words of Paula (T4’s point of view). Hitler used panopticism when it came to separating the mentally ill from healthy citizens to create a “golden” population.

Read More

Comparing The Republic And The Disreputable History Of Frankie Landau Banks

411 Words | 2 Pages

Moreover, the text about the panopticon from “The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks” by E. Lockhart is about a prison where a guard tower stands in the middle of many cells with darkened windows to create the illusion that they are being watched.

Read More

The Jungle-Like Atmosphere In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

1568 Words | 7 Pages

An example of how he implicated this ideology is shown by who, in the factory, has ultimate power to who has none. This hierarchy starts with the owners, then management, and lastly, the disposable workers. We can see something relatable to this in a jungle, a food chain. A lion has more power and influence over a hyena, who has more power than a rabbit. Another example of this predator and prey mindset is shown by the following quote: “He had not told them, simply because he had supposed they would understand that they had to pay interest upon their debt, as a matter of course.”

Read More

How Did Philip Zimbardo Conform

1676 Words | 7 Pages

This essay will describe Phillip Zimbardo’s conforming to social roles experiment and its contribution to our understanding of human behavior. It will start by talking about how the experiment started and how Phillip Zimbardo chose who became prisoner and who became prison guard it will then go on to discuss how the social roles started and began to change the students morals and ethics when the prisoner was stripped away from their identity and completely controlled and how power took control of the situation it will then lead on to the understanding of human behavior and how this changed the experiment that was supposed to last two weeks end just after six intense days. It will then end with the conclusion as a result of the experiment psychologists

Read More

Examples Of Power In Fahrenheit 451

790 Words | 4 Pages

Elie Georges Mrs. Pilotti EAE2D-08 25 April 2023 The POWER’s That Be Within a modern society you consistently find people who wish to have the ability to make changes such as changes in destiny or bureaucracy. This ability to make changes is power, this power can alter anything and everything from bureaucracy to the public perception of things. Power, is a concept widely presented throughout Ray Bradbury’s novel, Fahrenheit 451 (F451), and Public Enemy's song, “Fight the Power” (FTP).

Read More

How Does Voltaire Use Satire In Candide

916 Words | 4 Pages

Pangloss, were maintaining that we live in the best of all possible worlds, where everything is connected and arranged for the best” (Voltaire, page 8). This philosophy is mocked because it seems absolutely absurd given most of the events that take place in this book. A great example of Dr. Pangloss’s philosophy being a bit ridiculous is when the earthquake strikes and thirty thousand people die, yet Pangloss still remains optimistic and supports his main point that everything happens in order to achieve the best outcome. Dr. Pangloss truly shows his believe in the idea of optimism when Candide has wounds caused by the earthquake that need immediate attention and says to Pangloss, “For Heaven’s sake…fetch me some wine and oil! I am dying” (Voltaire, page 34), Dr. Pangloss replies with, “This earthquake is nothing new…the town of Lima in America experienced the same shocks last year.

Read More

Jealousy In East Of Eden

835 Words | 4 Pages

Once upon a time, there were a set of twins born into a corrupt household. One of the twins was secretly jealous of the other, which resulted him taking his own brother’s life. This tragedy occurs in the novel, East of Eden, written by John Steinbeck. East of Eden is about several families being brought together and having love-hate relationships. The characters in the novel are separated into two different name groups, C and A.

Read More

Examples Of Ethical Issues In The Great Gatsby

1250 Words | 5 Pages

Have you ever felt like your being watched? Odds are, your probably correct. At any given point in time, there is probably eyes on everyone in this world whether from another person or a higher being. There are many examples of everything being seen in many novels. Even many of the great classical novels contain great examples.

Read More

Is Philanthropy A Bad Idea Summary

744 Words | 3 Pages

They claim that because governments allow for wealth to be concentrated into the hands of a very small group of people, due to tax breaks and pro-business legislation, it makes both themselves and their people poorer. This creates a welfare net that is supported on the backs on a middle class that is getting smaller every day. The authors also claim that philanthropies take a government’s obligation to care for its citizens by providing aid. They claim that due to the government taking less money from corporations they become weak and unable to care for it citizens; making philanthropies absolutely required.

Read More

Patricia Hill Collins: Intersecting Opression Analysis

656 Words | 3 Pages

All over the world, people are forced to operate in a system of unequal distribution of power, wealth, and health. Structural power undermines the physical and psychological well-being of the people, through poverty, illness, premature death, environmental destruction, and repression (Haviland, 2010, p. xx). The disciplinary domain is the home of oppression, consisting of policy-making. The group over policy-making controls human behavior.

Read More

Totalitarianism Vs Bureaucracy

1232 Words | 5 Pages

Multiplicity of bureaus became an intentional program of the totalitarian regime, in an attempt to obfuscate and distance the citizen from any understanding of power, as well as to increase the 'stability ' of the totalitarian system. (pp 409, 441-442) The random execution of power and the obfuscation of the bureaucracy serve as the cornerstones of totalitarianism 's assault on the individual. Consider Arendt 's observations of 'rule by decree ' (pp 244), and the deification and worship of unintelligible power.

Read More

Foucault's Theory Of Disciplinary Power

997 Words | 4 Pages

It also indicates how common knowledge is used to conceal the functioning of power (Hook, 2004). It uses essential disunions of the past in order to undermine the certainties of the present (Gaventa, 2003). This is done in place of looking for the truths of

Read More

Three Faces Of Power Theory

919 Words | 4 Pages

It is how the powerful manipulate the powerless in order to fulfil the needs of those with power. What one may have here is a latent conflict, which consists in a contradiction between the interests of those exercising power and the real interests of those they exclude. These latter may not express or even be conscious of their interests, but ... the identification of those interests ultimately always rests on empirically supportable and refutable hypotheses (Lukes 2005).

Read More

Foucault's Theory Of Discourse Analysis

1274 Words | 6 Pages

Based on Stuart Hall’s (2006) discussion of Foucault’s theory of discourse, a discourse is generally consisting of a group of statements that together offer a way of talking about a par-ticular knowledge on a certain topic. Many individuals can produce it together, in different institutional settings. The discourse thereby enables the construction of a topic in a specific way which at the same time limits other constructions of the same topic. A discourse is made up not only from one but a multiplicity of statements that all share the same style to talk about the same topic. However, it is not a closed off system, it draws statements from and into other discourses.

Read More

Kant Vs Foucault Analysis

1116 Words | 5 Pages

Athena Kennedy Philosophy Professor Berendzen Kant vs. Foucault December 1, 2015 Kant vs. Foucault Humans question their surroundings every day, weather it is “is how I am acting the way I want to portray myself,” “am I doing the right thing in this situation?” All questions can and should be debated, In philosophy we find new ways to questions everything, weather it is another’s opinion or our own, we form new ways of thinking critically and new ways to obtain answers that will satisfy our thirst for knowledge. Philosophers believe that you need to be able to question everything because there is always new knowledge out there for us to absorb and to question. In critical thinking you evaluate an issue you believe is present in order

Read More

More about Foucault's Discussion Of Panopticism

Related Topics

Open Document