Greetings
this is my first message to the list, so I hope it got where it was
meant to go. I'm only getting the digest at the moment too, so this
might be old ideas by now.
>On Mon, 9 Jun 1997, John Ransom wrote:
>I wonder if anyone else is struck by Foucault's insistence on the
>*reality* of the soul.
My interpretation of this passage has always been that the 'reality' of
the soul that Foucault seems so insistent on is certainly quite distinct
from the traditional ontological sense. It seems to me Foucault is
saying the soul's reality is constituted due to various technologies of
power. It is not a given that is interpreted differently as different
modes of discourse develop. The 'soul' of theologians etc. was a
product of discursive formations at the time when theological discourse
was the dominant mode of understanding. Ditto for the sociologists.
This is all to say, I guess, that the 'reality' of the soul is a
socio-political (in the broad sense) rather than an ontological notion
for Foucault, as I read it.
Jon
P.S. I really enjoyed the 'brawling' over 'vulgar theories of truth'!
If I was ever clear on epistemology, ontology and the social
construction of reality, I'm not any more . . .
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this is my first message to the list, so I hope it got where it was
meant to go. I'm only getting the digest at the moment too, so this
might be old ideas by now.
>On Mon, 9 Jun 1997, John Ransom wrote:
>I wonder if anyone else is struck by Foucault's insistence on the
>*reality* of the soul.
My interpretation of this passage has always been that the 'reality' of
the soul that Foucault seems so insistent on is certainly quite distinct
from the traditional ontological sense. It seems to me Foucault is
saying the soul's reality is constituted due to various technologies of
power. It is not a given that is interpreted differently as different
modes of discourse develop. The 'soul' of theologians etc. was a
product of discursive formations at the time when theological discourse
was the dominant mode of understanding. Ditto for the sociologists.
This is all to say, I guess, that the 'reality' of the soul is a
socio-political (in the broad sense) rather than an ontological notion
for Foucault, as I read it.
Jon
P.S. I really enjoyed the 'brawling' over 'vulgar theories of truth'!
If I was ever clear on epistemology, ontology and the social
construction of reality, I'm not any more . . .
---------------------------------------------------------
Get Your *Web-Based* Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
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