Freud Foucault and Society
Aristotle once stated in Metaphysics that, "All men by nature desire Knowledge." If one accepts the claim that knowledge is power, then it will be logical to assert that all people want power. The person or persons that have knowledge also acquire the power of that knowledge. In Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish he clearly shows the power-knowledge relationship that is prevalent in society both on the large and small scale, and how these affect society as a whole. Whereas, Sigmund Freud who has mastered the discipline of psychotherapy, which he uses to help others without this knowledge clearly demonstrates the power of knowledge. In Sigmund Freud's Studies on Hysteria there are studies which show this use of power-knowledge to unlock problems in their mind creating the hysteria for which they suffer. These two authors use their power of knowledge in much the same way by bringing to light the problems that confront the individual. However, they both would have a different point of view on the use of this power. In Discipline and Punish, Foucault looks to shock the reader and get the attention of the reader immediately with his depiction of torture and death at the outset. This has a compelling effect, and
The patient's ego had been approached by an idea which proved to be incompatible, which provoked on the part of the ego a repelling force of which the purpose was defense against this incompatible idea. This defense was in fact successful. The idea in question was forced out of the consciousness and out of memory (Freud P.269). Even though the intended use of this power is to punish, it filters itself into everyday life and these turn out to be the rule which society is to live by. Foucault would find disagreement in the handling of the case of Elizabeth Von R. by Freud. Freud in this case as in others is trying to make the implicit, explicit, but the way in which he achieves this goal is different. There is physical handling of the patient in this case. Freud applies pressure to the head of Elizabeth Von R. to extract information from her. While the pressure was applied she was able to recall the memories, and when it was removed the sensation went away. Foucault would see this as a way of seducing information/memories from the patient. Much the same way information was extracted through torture earlier in history, with less severity, but yet solicited. As in both cases discussed, the patients were suffering from a defense hysteria. These could both be equated to the standards society sets for itself. Take the case again of Elizabeth Von R., she was largely confronted with her affections for her brother-in-law. In society, it was unacceptable to have certain feelings for one's brother-in-law; therefore she was forced to repress those feelings which in turn became physical abnormalities. It can also be noted that the patient has the control over the repression. Elizabeth Von R. would hold back giving information until after several attempts, this would show either her power over that knowledge, or her degree of repression. A violent opposition started against the entry into the consciousness of the questionable mental process, and for that reason it remained unconscious. As being something unconscious, it had the power to construct a symptom. This same opposition, during psychoanalytic treatment, sets itself up once more against our efforts to transform what is unconscious into what is conscious. That is what we perceive as resistance. We have proposed to give the pathogenic process, which is demonstrated by the resistance, the name of repression (Freud 286). Power in society according to Foucault is power to make people do things, not repress them. The first evidence of this power is within the family. The parents in a family have the power over their children. This is due to two reasons. The first is because they are physically more powerful. The second reason is because they have more knowledge. As an individual grows he/she gains more knowledge, through experience, which increases their power within the s
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1948
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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