A few days ago Colin Gordon was referring to some comments by
Foucault about his use of power-knowledge and governmentality.
I have located the passages in question. It is in his lecture of 9
January 198o. This lecture has not been published as yet. I found it
in the Foucault archives in Paris. It's actually a rather amusing
passage in places. He says:
'This notion of the government of men by truth ... Elaborating this
notion means displacing things a little in relation to the now
overused and worn out theme of power-knowledge. For the history of
thought, I had an analysis which was more or less organized, or which
revolved around, the notion of dominant ideology. In general, if you
like, there are two successive displacements: then, from the notion
of dominant ideology to that of power-knowledge and now, a second
displacement from the notion of knowledge-power to the notion of
government by the truth... Discarding the notion of knowledge-power
the same way as I discarded the notion of dominant ideology. Well,
when I say that, I am perfectly devastated (detruite) because it is
obvious that you don't discard something you thought yourself in the
same way as you discard what others have thought. As a consequence I
will certainly be more indulgent with the notion of knowledge-power
than with that of dominant ideology, but it is up to you to criticize
me for that.'
--
Clare
************************************************
Clare O'Farrell
email: panoptique@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://www.foucault.qut.edu.au
************************************************
Foucault about his use of power-knowledge and governmentality.
I have located the passages in question. It is in his lecture of 9
January 198o. This lecture has not been published as yet. I found it
in the Foucault archives in Paris. It's actually a rather amusing
passage in places. He says:
'This notion of the government of men by truth ... Elaborating this
notion means displacing things a little in relation to the now
overused and worn out theme of power-knowledge. For the history of
thought, I had an analysis which was more or less organized, or which
revolved around, the notion of dominant ideology. In general, if you
like, there are two successive displacements: then, from the notion
of dominant ideology to that of power-knowledge and now, a second
displacement from the notion of knowledge-power to the notion of
government by the truth... Discarding the notion of knowledge-power
the same way as I discarded the notion of dominant ideology. Well,
when I say that, I am perfectly devastated (detruite) because it is
obvious that you don't discard something you thought yourself in the
same way as you discard what others have thought. As a consequence I
will certainly be more indulgent with the notion of knowledge-power
than with that of dominant ideology, but it is up to you to criticize
me for that.'
--
Clare
************************************************
Clare O'Farrell
email: panoptique@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://www.foucault.qut.edu.au
************************************************