Hi Teresa,
Have you consulted the *History of Sexuality: The Care of the Self*? I was
just reading "Part Two: The Cultivation of the Self" when I looked up at the
monitor and saw your email. I think what Foucault discusses there would
clarify some of your questions. *Epimeleia heautou* involves a certain
modality of reason and Foucault finds this most pronounced in
Epictetus' *Discourses:
*'Man... must attend to himself: not, however, as a consequence of some
defect that would put him in a situation of need and make him in this
respect inferior to the animals, but because the god [Zeus] deemed it right
that he be able to make free use of himself; and it was for this purpose
that he endowed him with reason. The latter is not to be understood as a
substitute for natural faculties that might be lacking; on the contrary it
is the faculty that enables one to use, at the right time and in the right
way, the other faculties. In fact, it is this absolutely singular faculty
that is capable of making use of itself, for it is capable of "contemplating
both itself and everything else" By crowning with this reasoning faculty all
that is already given to us by nature, Zeus gave us the possibility and the
duty to take care of ourselves. It is insofar as he is free and reasonable
that man is the natural being that has been committed to the care of
himself' (1986, p.47).
I can't comment on the accuracy of your suggestions but it seems to me that
the above might be relevant to your questions. All the best.
Edwin
2008/5/13 Teresa Mayne <teresa.mayne@xxxxxxxxx>:
> Hi Erik,
>
> Thank you for being so direct. I'm probably not explaining myself
> properly,
> I have the habit of thinking in questions, so I will try to be more clear.
>
> I know the difference between fifth century B.C. Greece and the period of
> the Enlightenment. What I'm referring to specifically is Foucault's text
> "What is Enlightenment?". He describes Kant's opinion of the
> Enlightenment
> as an 'exit' from the status of 'immaturity'. The 'maturity' that is
> referred to is "a modification of the preexisting relation linking will,
> authority, and the use of reason". In "The Hermeneutics of the Subject"
> Foucault outlines three characteristics of the 'care of the self', the
> 'epimeleia heautou'. Firstly, "the epimeleia heautou is an attitude
> towards
> the self, others, and the world". Would it be accurate to link this, in
> the
> history of thought, with "a modification of the preexisting relation [of]
> authority"? Secondly, "being concerned about oneself implies that we look
> away from the outside to [one-self]". Would it be accurate to link the
> emergence of the 'care of the self' with a "modification of the
> preexisting
> relation [of] will"? Thirdly, "the epimeleia also always designates a
> number of actions exercised on the self by the self, actions by which one
> takes responsibility for oneself and by which one changes, purifies,
> transforms, and transfigures oneself". Would it be accurate to link this
> with reason (an intellectual action that is "exercised on the self by the
> self")? Therefore in the history of thought are there correlations
> between
> the viewpoint of the epimeleia heautou and Foucault's interpretation of
> how
> Kant views the 'maturity' of the Enlightenment? I hope this clarifies my
> question.
>
> Thanks,
> Teresa
>
> On 5/12/08, Erik Hoogcarspel <jehms@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > Thanks Teresa for giving me the opportunity to read the text again.
> > Teresa Mayne schreef:
> > > 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".
> > The text says 'Socrate est celui qui veille à ce que les concitoyens 'se
> > soicient d'euxmêmes'. I would translate this as 'Socrates is the one who
> > sees to it that his fellow citizens take care of themselves'. I don't
> > know which translation you use, but it seems that reading it is a
> > complete waste of time. Perhaps you should think of better things to do
> > with it like lighting a barbeque or putting a plant on it.
> > > 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.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > Foucault goes on to describe the kinds of personal training or askesis
> > in antiquity. He stresses that for all but Plato taking care of oneself
> > was a constant necessity if one would want to have an accomplished life.
> > This has nothing to do with the period called enlightenment, which is
> > supposed to be the period when the confidence in the Bible was replaced
> > with confidence in the light of reason.
> >
> >
> > Erik
> >
> > Info: www.xs4all.nl/~jehms <http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Ejehms>
> > Weblog: http://www.volkskrantblog.nl/pub/blogs/blog.php?uid=2950
> > Productie: http://stores.lulu.com/jehmsstudio
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Foucault-L mailing list
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
>
Have you consulted the *History of Sexuality: The Care of the Self*? I was
just reading "Part Two: The Cultivation of the Self" when I looked up at the
monitor and saw your email. I think what Foucault discusses there would
clarify some of your questions. *Epimeleia heautou* involves a certain
modality of reason and Foucault finds this most pronounced in
Epictetus' *Discourses:
*'Man... must attend to himself: not, however, as a consequence of some
defect that would put him in a situation of need and make him in this
respect inferior to the animals, but because the god [Zeus] deemed it right
that he be able to make free use of himself; and it was for this purpose
that he endowed him with reason. The latter is not to be understood as a
substitute for natural faculties that might be lacking; on the contrary it
is the faculty that enables one to use, at the right time and in the right
way, the other faculties. In fact, it is this absolutely singular faculty
that is capable of making use of itself, for it is capable of "contemplating
both itself and everything else" By crowning with this reasoning faculty all
that is already given to us by nature, Zeus gave us the possibility and the
duty to take care of ourselves. It is insofar as he is free and reasonable
that man is the natural being that has been committed to the care of
himself' (1986, p.47).
I can't comment on the accuracy of your suggestions but it seems to me that
the above might be relevant to your questions. All the best.
Edwin
2008/5/13 Teresa Mayne <teresa.mayne@xxxxxxxxx>:
> Hi Erik,
>
> Thank you for being so direct. I'm probably not explaining myself
> properly,
> I have the habit of thinking in questions, so I will try to be more clear.
>
> I know the difference between fifth century B.C. Greece and the period of
> the Enlightenment. What I'm referring to specifically is Foucault's text
> "What is Enlightenment?". He describes Kant's opinion of the
> Enlightenment
> as an 'exit' from the status of 'immaturity'. The 'maturity' that is
> referred to is "a modification of the preexisting relation linking will,
> authority, and the use of reason". In "The Hermeneutics of the Subject"
> Foucault outlines three characteristics of the 'care of the self', the
> 'epimeleia heautou'. Firstly, "the epimeleia heautou is an attitude
> towards
> the self, others, and the world". Would it be accurate to link this, in
> the
> history of thought, with "a modification of the preexisting relation [of]
> authority"? Secondly, "being concerned about oneself implies that we look
> away from the outside to [one-self]". Would it be accurate to link the
> emergence of the 'care of the self' with a "modification of the
> preexisting
> relation [of] will"? Thirdly, "the epimeleia also always designates a
> number of actions exercised on the self by the self, actions by which one
> takes responsibility for oneself and by which one changes, purifies,
> transforms, and transfigures oneself". Would it be accurate to link this
> with reason (an intellectual action that is "exercised on the self by the
> self")? Therefore in the history of thought are there correlations
> between
> the viewpoint of the epimeleia heautou and Foucault's interpretation of
> how
> Kant views the 'maturity' of the Enlightenment? I hope this clarifies my
> question.
>
> Thanks,
> Teresa
>
> On 5/12/08, Erik Hoogcarspel <jehms@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > Thanks Teresa for giving me the opportunity to read the text again.
> > Teresa Mayne schreef:
> > > 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".
> > The text says 'Socrate est celui qui veille à ce que les concitoyens 'se
> > soicient d'euxmêmes'. I would translate this as 'Socrates is the one who
> > sees to it that his fellow citizens take care of themselves'. I don't
> > know which translation you use, but it seems that reading it is a
> > complete waste of time. Perhaps you should think of better things to do
> > with it like lighting a barbeque or putting a plant on it.
> > > 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.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > Foucault goes on to describe the kinds of personal training or askesis
> > in antiquity. He stresses that for all but Plato taking care of oneself
> > was a constant necessity if one would want to have an accomplished life.
> > This has nothing to do with the period called enlightenment, which is
> > supposed to be the period when the confidence in the Bible was replaced
> > with confidence in the light of reason.
> >
> >
> > Erik
> >
> > Info: www.xs4all.nl/~jehms <http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Ejehms>
> > Weblog: http://www.volkskrantblog.nl/pub/blogs/blog.php?uid=2950
> > Productie: http://stores.lulu.com/jehmsstudio
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Foucault-L mailing list
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
>