>With every due respect, I wonder about the answer to Karen's question about
>Foucault's reference to "singularity" and "intransigence". My worry is
>perhaps a matter of being unfamiliar with the original reference, but I was
>surprised to see "intransigen[ce] when power infringes on the universal"
>couched in terms of refusal to compromise principles of justice. Wasn't
>Foucault frequently concerned to question expressly when principles of
>justice functioned tyrannically? My hope, here is not to disagree, but
>rather to ask for further clarification.
Let me reply with another passage from the same article which might
clarify things
'This perspective is inseparable from another principle: the power
that one man exercises over another is always perilous. I am not
saying that power is evil by nature; I am saying that, owing to its
mechanisms, power is infinite (which does not mean to say that it is
all powerful; quite the contrary). In order to limit power, the rules
are never sufficiently rigorous. In order to break its grip on all
the opportunities which it seizes upon, universal principles are
never strict enough. Against power it is always necessary to oppose
unbreakable laws and rights without restrictions'.
--
Clare
************************************************
Clare O'Farrell
email: panopticon1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://home.iprimus.com.au/panopticon1/
************************************************
>Foucault's reference to "singularity" and "intransigence". My worry is
>perhaps a matter of being unfamiliar with the original reference, but I was
>surprised to see "intransigen[ce] when power infringes on the universal"
>couched in terms of refusal to compromise principles of justice. Wasn't
>Foucault frequently concerned to question expressly when principles of
>justice functioned tyrannically? My hope, here is not to disagree, but
>rather to ask for further clarification.
Let me reply with another passage from the same article which might
clarify things
'This perspective is inseparable from another principle: the power
that one man exercises over another is always perilous. I am not
saying that power is evil by nature; I am saying that, owing to its
mechanisms, power is infinite (which does not mean to say that it is
all powerful; quite the contrary). In order to limit power, the rules
are never sufficiently rigorous. In order to break its grip on all
the opportunities which it seizes upon, universal principles are
never strict enough. Against power it is always necessary to oppose
unbreakable laws and rights without restrictions'.
--
Clare
************************************************
Clare O'Farrell
email: panopticon1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://home.iprimus.com.au/panopticon1/
************************************************