>Hi, I've been reading Foucault for less than a year now. A lot of
>his work seems quite subversive of accepted notions of society.
>However, his basic premise seems quite basic to me. The common
>expression "knowledge is power" seems to summarize his
>position.There doesn't seem to be anything revolutionary about that.
>Is the interpretation that "knowledge is power" an
>oversimplification of his work?
Yes it is a simplification. On a few occasions he refutes this
interpretation of his work saying that he wouldn't have gone to so
much trouble over so many years if knowledge and power were
equivalent. He is interested in the complex interrelation between
these two concepts which he insists are not identical.
--
Clare
************************************************
Clare O'Farrell
email: panopticon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://www.foucault.qut.edu.au
************************************************
>his work seems quite subversive of accepted notions of society.
>However, his basic premise seems quite basic to me. The common
>expression "knowledge is power" seems to summarize his
>position.There doesn't seem to be anything revolutionary about that.
>Is the interpretation that "knowledge is power" an
>oversimplification of his work?
Yes it is a simplification. On a few occasions he refutes this
interpretation of his work saying that he wouldn't have gone to so
much trouble over so many years if knowledge and power were
equivalent. He is interested in the complex interrelation between
these two concepts which he insists are not identical.
--
Clare
************************************************
Clare O'Farrell
email: panopticon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://www.foucault.qut.edu.au
************************************************