Dear Cameron,
I am not particularly working in this area but here is my initial response
to the issues you have raised (which are of course very complex and need
more focused formulations).
Foucault's views and his own flirting with drugs and related practices can
be found in Miller's controversial The Passion of Michel Foucault. The
obvious relation to drugs in Foucault's thought can be found in his
obsession and concern with 'pleasure' and also with 'limit experience' and
'transgression' (as you mentioned in your post). Although I think their
relation to the positive concept of practices of self is more complex
(practices of self according to Foucault can be both practices of freedom
and subjugation). In the context of the practices of self as practices of
freedom I guess especially in his later work one's freedom from passion and
moderation become very important, so in this context drug use can be seen as
enslavement to passion when one loses moderation etc, thus drug can be the
basis of self enslavement as well (I am being entirely speculative here,
thinking on the basis of Foucault?s conceptions). I think the concept of
identity is more problematic for Foucault, although there is a place for
identity formation as a process but Foucault would not accept identity in
more static manner. In this context he advocates self-effacement as freedom
from oneself (from static identities). In this freedom from static
identities, in search of self effacement limit experiences like drugs can
have their role with the proviso (noted above) that it may lead to lost of
moderation and hence can lead to self enslavement.
The concept of delinquency and that of dangerous individual is an important
concept in the context of the general working of liberal/capitalist state
but it is not necessarily applied to every form of deviation. To be very
brief in the context of general rationality of liberal/capitalist state
Foucault was of the opinion that it does not necessarily repress deviations.
More positively Foucault discerned that the liberal/capitalist state not
only gives freedom for the proliferation of many forms of deviations but
also in many cases help them proliferate. This was the part of what may be
called as the technique of governance particular to liberal/capitalist state
in which it manages (primarily) through freedom and notm (primarily) through
repression. This technique emanates from the general rationality of
liberal/capitalist state which consist in its dual commitment to the
maximisation of utility and maximisation of docility at the same time.
I guess you should also look at the files of the journal Economy and
Society. I am sure there would be something specific on drug and public
policy in the Foucauldian context.
Sorry for these off the cuff remarks, I am just a bit short of time right
now. I also intend to write a reply to Hiro's mail (hopefully if I find
sometime) but this is it for now.
Best regards
ali
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I am not particularly working in this area but here is my initial response
to the issues you have raised (which are of course very complex and need
more focused formulations).
Foucault's views and his own flirting with drugs and related practices can
be found in Miller's controversial The Passion of Michel Foucault. The
obvious relation to drugs in Foucault's thought can be found in his
obsession and concern with 'pleasure' and also with 'limit experience' and
'transgression' (as you mentioned in your post). Although I think their
relation to the positive concept of practices of self is more complex
(practices of self according to Foucault can be both practices of freedom
and subjugation). In the context of the practices of self as practices of
freedom I guess especially in his later work one's freedom from passion and
moderation become very important, so in this context drug use can be seen as
enslavement to passion when one loses moderation etc, thus drug can be the
basis of self enslavement as well (I am being entirely speculative here,
thinking on the basis of Foucault?s conceptions). I think the concept of
identity is more problematic for Foucault, although there is a place for
identity formation as a process but Foucault would not accept identity in
more static manner. In this context he advocates self-effacement as freedom
from oneself (from static identities). In this freedom from static
identities, in search of self effacement limit experiences like drugs can
have their role with the proviso (noted above) that it may lead to lost of
moderation and hence can lead to self enslavement.
The concept of delinquency and that of dangerous individual is an important
concept in the context of the general working of liberal/capitalist state
but it is not necessarily applied to every form of deviation. To be very
brief in the context of general rationality of liberal/capitalist state
Foucault was of the opinion that it does not necessarily repress deviations.
More positively Foucault discerned that the liberal/capitalist state not
only gives freedom for the proliferation of many forms of deviations but
also in many cases help them proliferate. This was the part of what may be
called as the technique of governance particular to liberal/capitalist state
in which it manages (primarily) through freedom and notm (primarily) through
repression. This technique emanates from the general rationality of
liberal/capitalist state which consist in its dual commitment to the
maximisation of utility and maximisation of docility at the same time.
I guess you should also look at the files of the journal Economy and
Society. I am sure there would be something specific on drug and public
policy in the Foucauldian context.
Sorry for these off the cuff remarks, I am just a bit short of time right
now. I also intend to write a reply to Hiro's mail (hopefully if I find
sometime) but this is it for now.
Best regards
ali
_________________________________________________________________
Join the world?s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.
http://www.hotmail.com