Firstly, I don't think Foucault is "completely open to interpretation," but, remaining at the level of what was objectively stated, is open to a number of possible interpretations; and secondly, yes, I do think there are those who would like to tell us what Foucault really meant.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:15:20 -0500
> To: foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Foucault-L] The Hermeneutics of the Subject and volumes 2
> and 3 of the History of Sexuality
>
> what my question was raising was how Hermeneutics of the Subject
> clarifies
> the other two volumes, the clarification of their foundations, not their
> actual content.
> btw, what do you mean by "some detractors"? That some people don't think
> that Foucault is completely open to interpretation and that they feel
> there
> is a real to Foucault to be found?
>
> On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 6:32 AM, Kevin Turner
> <kevin.turner@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>
>> there does seem to be a general consensus, of course with some
>> detractors,
>> that it is neither possible nor desireable to attempt to get at the real
>> Foucault.
>>
>> Given this, what you question seems to raise is the criteria by which we
>> judge good and bad interpretations.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Kevin.
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
>>> Sent: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:15:53 -0500
>>> To: foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: Re: [Foucault-L] The Hermeneutics of the Subject and volumes 2
>>> and 3 of the History of Sexuality
>>>
>>> Besides, I don't think it would be unproblematic to go for a "true
>>> Foucault"
>>> as I don't think one could find or especially Foucault himself would
>>> desire
>>> a true, stable objective source for his thought. He wasn't just
>>> indulging
>>> in
>>> cheap worldplay when he said "I write to have no face".
>>>
>>> On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 6:14 AM, Chetan Vemuri
>>> <aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>
>>>> I understand Kevin but I wasn't intending what you think I said.
>>>> What I meant was that people got these flawed notions that Foucault
>>>> was
>>>> proposing a sexual dandyism and generalizing Greek techniques of the
>>>> self by
>>>> reading just those two books when really he was just talking about
>>>> specific
>>>> instances with those rather than the entire techniques of self, and I
>>>> thought that The Hermeneutics of the Subject simply showed the larger
>>>> framework he was working in and served to demonstrate that his
>>>> conception of
>>>> greek practices were not limited to sex but much larger and broader
>>>> concerns, a broader and and very accurate conception they give little
>>>> credit
>>>> for.
>>>> But yes, your points are very true.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 6:08 AM, Kevin Turner
>>>> <kevin.turner@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Chetan,
>>>>>
>>>>> For a long time, the only text I had read by Foucault was "Discipline
>>>>> and
>>>>> Punish," and from this reading, I think I formed a very clear and
>>>>> coherent
>>>>> understanding of what Foucault was doing with this book, of the kind
>>>>> of
>>>>> work
>>>>> it was carrying out.
>>>>>
>>>>> Somewhat later, I began to read all the texts available in English,
>>>>> and
>>>>> consequently formed a different understanding of what was taking
>>>>> place
>>>>> in
>>>>> the pages of DP.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is this second reading more accurate than the first? Is it a reading
>>>>> which, due to the extra material, produces a more fuller, more
>>>>> detailed,
>>>>> more sophisticated, and truer understanding of what takes place in
>>>>> DP?
>>>>> I'm
>>>>> not sure. For me it simply represents a different understanding, one
>>>>> that in
>>>>> no way invalidates my original reading of the text, but which has
>>>>> certainly
>>>>> modified that reading.
>>>>>
>>>>> This also holds for my undertaking of what happens in DP following my
>>>>> reading of the Collège de France lectures that took place prior to
>>>>> its
>>>>> publication (Psychiatric Power, Abnormal), and which formed the
>>>>> background
>>>>> research for it.
>>>>>
>>>>> Does all this extra data bring me "closer" to the "real" Foucault as
>>>>> this
>>>>> is presented in Discipline and Punish? Once again, I'm not sure. But
>>>>> I
>>>>> don't
>>>>> think so. I think that the difference between my reading of that text
>>>>> 14
>>>>> years ago and now is not one of accuracy, but one of interpretation.
>>>>>
>>>>> So, I think I would respond to your question by saying that
>>>>> "Hermeneutic
>>>>> of the Subject" does not so much reveal the "true light" of UP and CS
>>>>> but,
>>>>> rather, opens up a different aperture (grid of intelligibility)
>>>>> through
>>>>> which these texts can be read and understood.
>>>>>
>>>>> There are only interpretations of interpretations...
>>>>>
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>> Kevin.
>>>>>
>>>>> ____________________________________________________________
>>>>> Receive Notifications of Incoming Messages
>>>>> Easily monitor multiple email accounts & access them with a click.
>>>>> Visit http://www.inbox.com/notifier and check it out!
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Foucault-L mailing list
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Chetan Vemuri
>>>> West Des Moines, IA
>>>> aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
>>>> (515)-418-2771
>>>> "You say you want a Revolution! Well you know, we all want to change
>>>> the
>>>> world"
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Chetan Vemuri
>>> West Des Moines, IA
>>> aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
>>> (515)-418-2771
>>> "You say you want a Revolution! Well you know, we all want to change
>>> the
>>> world"
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Foucault-L mailing list
>>
>> ____________________________________________________________
>> FREE 3D EARTH SCREENSAVER - Watch the Earth right on your desktop!
>> Check it out at http://www.inbox.com/earth
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Foucault-L mailing list
>
>
>
>
> --
> Chetan Vemuri
> West Des Moines, IA
> aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
> (515)-418-2771
> "You say you want a Revolution! Well you know, we all want to change the
> world"
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
____________________________________________________________
GET FREE 5GB EMAIL - Check out spam free email with many cool features!
Visit http://www.inbox.com/email to find out more!
> -----Original Message-----
> From: aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:15:20 -0500
> To: foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Foucault-L] The Hermeneutics of the Subject and volumes 2
> and 3 of the History of Sexuality
>
> what my question was raising was how Hermeneutics of the Subject
> clarifies
> the other two volumes, the clarification of their foundations, not their
> actual content.
> btw, what do you mean by "some detractors"? That some people don't think
> that Foucault is completely open to interpretation and that they feel
> there
> is a real to Foucault to be found?
>
> On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 6:32 AM, Kevin Turner
> <kevin.turner@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>
>> there does seem to be a general consensus, of course with some
>> detractors,
>> that it is neither possible nor desireable to attempt to get at the real
>> Foucault.
>>
>> Given this, what you question seems to raise is the criteria by which we
>> judge good and bad interpretations.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Kevin.
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
>>> Sent: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 06:15:53 -0500
>>> To: foucault-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Subject: Re: [Foucault-L] The Hermeneutics of the Subject and volumes 2
>>> and 3 of the History of Sexuality
>>>
>>> Besides, I don't think it would be unproblematic to go for a "true
>>> Foucault"
>>> as I don't think one could find or especially Foucault himself would
>>> desire
>>> a true, stable objective source for his thought. He wasn't just
>>> indulging
>>> in
>>> cheap worldplay when he said "I write to have no face".
>>>
>>> On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 6:14 AM, Chetan Vemuri
>>> <aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>
>>>> I understand Kevin but I wasn't intending what you think I said.
>>>> What I meant was that people got these flawed notions that Foucault
>>>> was
>>>> proposing a sexual dandyism and generalizing Greek techniques of the
>>>> self by
>>>> reading just those two books when really he was just talking about
>>>> specific
>>>> instances with those rather than the entire techniques of self, and I
>>>> thought that The Hermeneutics of the Subject simply showed the larger
>>>> framework he was working in and served to demonstrate that his
>>>> conception of
>>>> greek practices were not limited to sex but much larger and broader
>>>> concerns, a broader and and very accurate conception they give little
>>>> credit
>>>> for.
>>>> But yes, your points are very true.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 6:08 AM, Kevin Turner
>>>> <kevin.turner@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Chetan,
>>>>>
>>>>> For a long time, the only text I had read by Foucault was "Discipline
>>>>> and
>>>>> Punish," and from this reading, I think I formed a very clear and
>>>>> coherent
>>>>> understanding of what Foucault was doing with this book, of the kind
>>>>> of
>>>>> work
>>>>> it was carrying out.
>>>>>
>>>>> Somewhat later, I began to read all the texts available in English,
>>>>> and
>>>>> consequently formed a different understanding of what was taking
>>>>> place
>>>>> in
>>>>> the pages of DP.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is this second reading more accurate than the first? Is it a reading
>>>>> which, due to the extra material, produces a more fuller, more
>>>>> detailed,
>>>>> more sophisticated, and truer understanding of what takes place in
>>>>> DP?
>>>>> I'm
>>>>> not sure. For me it simply represents a different understanding, one
>>>>> that in
>>>>> no way invalidates my original reading of the text, but which has
>>>>> certainly
>>>>> modified that reading.
>>>>>
>>>>> This also holds for my undertaking of what happens in DP following my
>>>>> reading of the Collège de France lectures that took place prior to
>>>>> its
>>>>> publication (Psychiatric Power, Abnormal), and which formed the
>>>>> background
>>>>> research for it.
>>>>>
>>>>> Does all this extra data bring me "closer" to the "real" Foucault as
>>>>> this
>>>>> is presented in Discipline and Punish? Once again, I'm not sure. But
>>>>> I
>>>>> don't
>>>>> think so. I think that the difference between my reading of that text
>>>>> 14
>>>>> years ago and now is not one of accuracy, but one of interpretation.
>>>>>
>>>>> So, I think I would respond to your question by saying that
>>>>> "Hermeneutic
>>>>> of the Subject" does not so much reveal the "true light" of UP and CS
>>>>> but,
>>>>> rather, opens up a different aperture (grid of intelligibility)
>>>>> through
>>>>> which these texts can be read and understood.
>>>>>
>>>>> There are only interpretations of interpretations...
>>>>>
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>> Kevin.
>>>>>
>>>>> ____________________________________________________________
>>>>> Receive Notifications of Incoming Messages
>>>>> Easily monitor multiple email accounts & access them with a click.
>>>>> Visit http://www.inbox.com/notifier and check it out!
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Foucault-L mailing list
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Chetan Vemuri
>>>> West Des Moines, IA
>>>> aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
>>>> (515)-418-2771
>>>> "You say you want a Revolution! Well you know, we all want to change
>>>> the
>>>> world"
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Chetan Vemuri
>>> West Des Moines, IA
>>> aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
>>> (515)-418-2771
>>> "You say you want a Revolution! Well you know, we all want to change
>>> the
>>> world"
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Foucault-L mailing list
>>
>> ____________________________________________________________
>> FREE 3D EARTH SCREENSAVER - Watch the Earth right on your desktop!
>> Check it out at http://www.inbox.com/earth
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Foucault-L mailing list
>
>
>
>
> --
> Chetan Vemuri
> West Des Moines, IA
> aryavartacnsrn@xxxxxxxxx
> (515)-418-2771
> "You say you want a Revolution! Well you know, we all want to change the
> world"
> _______________________________________________
> Foucault-L mailing list
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