Foucault in *The Hermeneutics of the Subject,* the translations of his
lectures from the College de France between 1981 – 1982, states that "in his
activity of encouraging others to attend to themselves Socrates says that
with regard to his fellow citizens his role is that of someone who awakens
them. The care of the self will thus be looked upon as the moment of the
first awakening". Does this awakening correspond in any way to the
awakening of the Enlightenment, which Kant interprets as a way that we can
free ourselves from the status of immaturity? What I mean is, is Foucault's
interpretation of Kant another way of formulating how the 'care of the self'
can be awakened yet again? And then is the 'first awakening' a constant,
unchanging awakening that is reborn again and again at various times during
history? I'm thinking of Parmenides here.
Please bear in mind that this question is coming from an English translation
of Foucault's lectures at the College de France. My French is pretty
horrible and my ability to understand ancient Greek is only slightly better,
so please bear with my ignorance. If my question is fundamentally flawed
I'd appreciate a correction. This is the first time that I'm attempting to
pose a question; I'm not sure if it is appropriate for this site (I stumbled
upon this list recently. To make a long story short I am no longer able to
separate my nocturnal cravings with my day time pursuits). I am still
working through the book, so I'm sure there are a lot of details that I'm
missing, but I'd appreciate any help just the same.
Thanks,
Teresa
lectures from the College de France between 1981 – 1982, states that "in his
activity of encouraging others to attend to themselves Socrates says that
with regard to his fellow citizens his role is that of someone who awakens
them. The care of the self will thus be looked upon as the moment of the
first awakening". Does this awakening correspond in any way to the
awakening of the Enlightenment, which Kant interprets as a way that we can
free ourselves from the status of immaturity? What I mean is, is Foucault's
interpretation of Kant another way of formulating how the 'care of the self'
can be awakened yet again? And then is the 'first awakening' a constant,
unchanging awakening that is reborn again and again at various times during
history? I'm thinking of Parmenides here.
Please bear in mind that this question is coming from an English translation
of Foucault's lectures at the College de France. My French is pretty
horrible and my ability to understand ancient Greek is only slightly better,
so please bear with my ignorance. If my question is fundamentally flawed
I'd appreciate a correction. This is the first time that I'm attempting to
pose a question; I'm not sure if it is appropriate for this site (I stumbled
upon this list recently. To make a long story short I am no longer able to
separate my nocturnal cravings with my day time pursuits). I am still
working through the book, so I'm sure there are a lot of details that I'm
missing, but I'd appreciate any help just the same.
Thanks,
Teresa