Chapter 2.5: Michel Foucault, power

Summary

In this lecture, the focus is on Michel Foucault's concepts of power, particularly his distinction between repressive and normalizing power. Foucault suggests that the most influential power in modern society is not the obvious repressive kind, but the subtle, pervasive normalizing power that shapes our desires and beliefs, making us willingly comply with societal norms. He argues that this power is omnipresent, affecting us through various institutions like family, schools, and media. Foucault also links scientific knowledge to power, asserting that it plays a crucial role in normalization, influencing how society perceives and expects us to behave.

Takeaways

• 😲 Foucault introduces a new perspective on power, suggesting it can be found in unexpected places, including academia and scientific knowledge.
• 🔍 He differentiates between 'repressive power' and 'normalizing power', challenging the traditional view of power as only violent or coercive.
• 🤔 Foucault argues that 'normalizing power' is more subtle and pervasive, shaping our desires and behaviors without us realizing it.
• 🏛️ Repressive power is associated with institutions like the police and military, and is seen as a last resort when other forms of power fail.
• 🏫 Normalizing power is omnipresent, operating through institutions like family, schools, universities, and even media.
• 👥 Foucault believes that power is not just held by a few; everyone is subjected to it, influencing both the powerful and the less powerful.
• 🧠 Normalizing power constructs our worldview and self-perception, making us believe our beliefs and desires are our own, not imposed by society.
• 🔬 Scientific knowledge is deeply intertwined with power, as it sets the standards for what is considered normal in society.
• 🏛️ Institutions that generate scientific knowledge are sources of normalizing power, influencing how individuals think and behave.
• 🤷‍♂️ Foucault is skeptical of the idea of a 'true self' separate from societal norms, suggesting we are all products of normalization to some extent.
• 💡 Awareness of the ways in which we are subjected to power can lead to a greater sense of autonomy, even if we cannot completely break free from societal influences.

Q & A

What are the two kinds of power that Michel Foucault discusses in his lecture?

Michel Foucault discusses two kinds of power: repressive power and normalizing power.

How does Foucault define repressive power?

Repressive power is defined by Foucault as the traditional form of power that involves the use of force or threats to make people comply with certain rules or orders, such as a judge sentencing a criminal or a boss threatening an employee.

What is normalizing power according to Foucault?

Normalizing power, as described by Foucault, is a subtle and less visible form of power that shapes individuals' beliefs, desires, and decisions in a way that makes them want to do what society expects of them, without the need for explicit threats or force.

Why does Foucault consider repressive power to be less effective than normalizing power?

Foucault considers repressive power to be less effective because it implies a failure and requires the use of force or threats, whereas normalizing power is more effective as it shapes individuals' behavior in a way that they willingly comply with societal norms and expectations.

How does Foucault view the role of institutions in the exercise of normalizing power?

Foucault sees institutions such as families, schools, universities, hospitals, and even media as sources of normalizing power, as they contribute to shaping individuals' views of the world and themselves.

What is the relationship between power and scientific knowledge according to Foucault?

Foucault posits that scientific knowledge is not separate from power. It plays a crucial role in the social structures that exert normalizing power on individuals, with professionals like doctors, psychiatrists, economists, and historians using science to define what is considered normal or acceptable behavior.

How does Foucault's concept of power challenge the traditional view of power as held by a few?

Foucault's concept of power challenges the traditional view by suggesting that power is not just held by a few powerful individuals but is a pervasive force that subjects everyone to its influence, including those who appear to be in positions of power.

What does Foucault suggest about the possibility of breaking free from the influence of societal norms?

Foucault suggests that it is not possible to radically break free from the influence of societal norms because they are deeply ingrained in our identities. However, becoming aware of the ways in which we are subjected to power can lead to a degree of autonomy.

How does Foucault explain the role of education in the context of normalizing power?

Foucault explains that education, particularly university education, is a significant instrument of normalizing power as it shapes students into individuals who think and act in ways that are considered normal and acceptable by society.

What is the significance of the concept of 'normal' in Foucault's discussion on normalizing power?

The concept of 'normal' is central to Foucault's discussion on normalizing power because it represents the societal standards and expectations that individuals are subtly encouraged to conform to, shaping their behavior and perceptions without the need for overt coercion.

How does Foucault view the autonomy of individuals within a society that is pervasively influenced by normalizing power?

Foucault acknowledges that complete autonomy is difficult to achieve due to the pervasive influence of normalizing power. However, he believes that self-awareness and understanding of the mechanisms of power can provide individuals with a greater degree of autonomy.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Exploring Foucault's Concept of Power

This paragraph delves into Michel Foucault's perspective on power, specifically focusing on his distinction between repressive and normalizing power. Foucault challenges the traditional view of power as merely coercive, suggesting that power is more subtly exercised through normalization. He argues that power is not just about making people do things they don't want to do (repression), but also about shaping their desires and behaviors to align with societal norms (normalization). This concept is exemplified through everyday scenarios like education and employment, illustrating how individuals internalize societal expectations and act accordingly without the need for overt coercion. Foucault's ideas prompt a reevaluation of where and how power operates in modern society, including within institutions like universities and the realm of scientific knowledge.

05:01

🌐 The Ubiquity and Impact of Normalizing Power

The second paragraph expands on the concept of normalizing power, emphasizing its omnipresence and profound influence on society and individuals. Foucault posits that normalizing power is more effective and primary than repressive power, as it ensures compliance not through force but through internalized norms. He discusses the role of various societal institutions, such as family, schools, universities, and media, in perpetuating these norms. Furthermore, Foucault examines the inseparability of scientific knowledge from power, highlighting how scientific standards are used to define what is considered normal or acceptable behavior in society. This insight reveals the interconnectedness of power, knowledge, and social structures, and encourages a critical awareness of the ways in which individuals are shaped by and participate in these structures, potentially leading to a greater sense of autonomy.

Keywords

💡Power

Power, in the context of the video, is not just about authority or force but is a multifaceted concept that includes the ability to influence and control behavior. It is central to the theme as it explores how power operates beyond obvious forms of repression, shaping our actions and beliefs without us realizing it. For example, the script discusses how power can be exercised through institutions like the university, shaping what we consider normal behavior.

💡Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault is a French philosopher whose ideas on power, knowledge, and discourse are foundational to the video's discussion. Foucault's work provides a framework for understanding power as both repressive and normalizing, and the video uses his theories to analyze the subtle ways in which power operates within society.

💡Repressive Power

Repressive power is defined as the traditional and overt form of power that uses force or threats to control behavior, such as a judge sentencing a criminal or a boss threatening an employee. The video contrasts this with normalizing power, suggesting that repressive power is less effective and more obvious, as it implies a failure to achieve compliance through more subtle means.

💡Normalizing Power

Normalizing power is a concept introduced by Foucault to describe a subtler form of power that shapes individuals' desires and behaviors to align with societal norms. The video explains that this type of power is more pervasive and effective because it makes people want to comply voluntarily, as seen in the example of societal expectations discouraging theft.

💡Science

Science, in the video, is portrayed as intertwined with power, particularly normalizing power. It is not just a pursuit of knowledge but also a tool that constructs societal norms and influences how individuals perceive themselves and the world. The script points out that scientific knowledge is produced and disseminated by institutions that are sources of normalizing power.

💡Autonomy

Autonomy refers to the capacity for self-governance and the freedom to make one's own choices. The video suggests that while we cannot completely break from societal influences, becoming aware of the power structures that shape us can lead to a greater sense of autonomy. It implies that understanding power dynamics can empower individuals to make more independent decisions.

💡Institutions

Institutions are organizations or establishments that have a significant role in shaping societal norms and behaviors. The video highlights various institutions such as the family, school, university, and hospital as sources of normalizing power, emphasizing that power is not centralized but rather diffused throughout society.

💡Hierarchy

Hierarchy is a ranking system within an organization or society. The video uses the concept of hierarchy to illustrate how normalizing power operates, as it discusses the expectations and behaviors associated with different levels within a hierarchy, such as the relationship between bosses and employees.

💡Beliefs, Desires, and Decisions

These terms refer to the mental states and actions influenced by power structures. The video explains that normalizing power shapes our beliefs, desires, and decisions in such a way that we perceive them as our own, even though they are influenced by societal norms and expectations.

💡Normalization

Normalization is the process by which power constructs our understanding of what is considered 'normal' or acceptable behavior. The video discusses how normalization affects our self-perception and our actions, using the example of education and societal expectations to illustrate how individuals are shaped to fit into predefined roles.

💡Society

Society, in the video, is the collective of individuals and institutions that exert normalizing power. It is the broader context in which power operates, and the script uses the term to discuss how societal norms and expectations are internalized by individuals, influencing their behavior and self-identity.

Highlights

Foucault introduces a new perspective on power, suggesting it exists in unexpected places, including academia and scientific knowledge.

Power is categorized into repressive and normalizing forms, with the latter being more subtle and pervasive in modern society.

Repressive power is often associated with the use of force or threats, such as imprisonment or military conquest.

The need to apply repressive power can indicate a failure in achieving desired behaviors without coercion.

Normalizing power shapes individuals to willingly conform to societal expectations without the need for force.

Foucault argues that our behaviors are not solely driven by fear of punishment but are deeply ingrained through normalization.

Normalization constructs our worldview and self-perception, making us believe our actions are self-determined.

Foucault is skeptical of the existence of a 'true self' separate from societal norms and influences.

Normalizing power is considered 'first-rate' as it ensures compliance without the need for overt force.

Both repressive and normalizing powers are present in various institutions, shaping societal roles and behaviors.

Scientific knowledge is intertwined with power, influencing norms and standards that govern society.

Foucault's view suggests that everyone is subjected to power, regardless of their social status or role.

Scientific institutions contribute to normalizing power by shaping the way individuals think and act.

Foucault emphasizes the importance of understanding the role of power in shaping scientific knowledge and societal structures.

Becoming aware of the influence of power can lead to a greater degree of autonomy and self-determination.

Foucault does not advocate for a complete break from societal norms but encourages critical awareness of power dynamics.

The lecture concludes that power is omnipresent, shaping our lives in ways that we may not fully recognize or understand.

Transcripts

in this lecture we will look at some of

Michel Foucault's ideas about power and

about the link he finds between power

and science we will see that Foucault

gives us a new way of thinking about

power a way which allows us to find

power in places where we would have

never expected to find it before

including in the university and in

scientific knowledge itself to

understand fuko's thinking we will make

a distinction between between two kinds

of power repressive power and

normalizing power to think of power in

terms of repression is the traditional

way of thinking against that Foucault

suggests that most power and indeed the

most important kind of power in our

modern society doesn't repress at all it

works in a far subtler less visible way

this power is what Foucault calls

normalizing power but let's start on the

repressive side when we think of someone

who is exercising power some of the

images that may come up in our minds are

these a judge ordering a criminal to be

locked up for 20 years a country using

its superior military to conquer another

country an angry boss telling his

employee to do as he's told or get fired

and so on when we think of power we tend

to think of violence whether physical or

mental what our actual or only

threatened this is the idea of power as

a repression you want to do one thing

but someone else uses their power to

force you to do their bidding instead

now such power is undeniably effective

but there is also a sense in which in

each of these cases the need to apply

power implies a failure the state only

has to lock up criminals if its laws

have been broken the bigger country only

needs to go to the trouble of invading

the smaller country if it has failed in

other ways to make the smaller country

do what it wants and a boss who has to

threat

employees is not really in control a

boss who is really in control is obeyed

without the need for threats repressive

power them while no doubt the most

visible form of power is also kind of

second-rate if you were really powerful

you wouldn't need to use it our lives

are shaped by repressive power or by the

threat of repressive power only on rare

occasions for instance take stealing

only a few of us actually go to jail for

stealing and what's more it's not the

case that the rest of us are motivated

not to steal because we are afraid of

going to jail

because of the threat of jail we don't

walk through the supermarket with the

desire to steal things held in check

only by our fear of the police no we

don't even think about stealing if we

think about it we don't consider it

seriously we don't want to steal if we

find someone's wallet on the street with

a hundred euros in it we'll give it back

to the owner with all the money still in

it that's the kind of people we are and

that is where fuko's idea of normalizing

power comes in repressive power forces

us to do what we don't want to do

normalizing power on the other hand

makes us want to do what we have to do

anyway it turns us into people who

automatically by their own will do what

society wishes them to do if our parents

our schools and so on have been

successful at teaching us not to steal

we are now the kind of people I just

described people who can't even imagine

themselves stealing anything if they

have been successful at teaching you the

value of education and diplomas then you

are now the kind of student who is

motivated to learn well for your

university courses and to get a degree

in four years of course while you are

students Society allows you to do some

stupid things like drinking too much

beer

smoking pot failing a course now and

then but society can afford to

because it knows that when you have

finished your degree you will be not

just ready but eager to join the

workforce make yourself useful pay taxes

not break the law and in general just be

an upright normal citizen normal that's

the key word here

normalizing power is power that

determines what we see as normal it

constructs our view of the world and of

ourselves in that way it shapes our

beliefs our desires and our decisions

while at the same time giving us the

idea that these are our own beliefs

desires and decisions that nobody has

forced them upon us and in the sense

that's true even though our lives have

been shaped in countless ways by the

normalizing power of society well

they're still our lives Foucault is

extremely skeptical of the idea that

there is some true you hiding underneath

what society has made of you without

society you wouldn't be a person at all

all of us always are and always will be

normalized to a very large extent I said

before that repressive power is in a

sense second-rate if you need to use

force or threats to get people to do

what you want

you're already solving a problem that

ideally would never have arisen ideally

people would do what you want without

threats they would do what you want

simply because they consider that the

right thing to do this of course is

precisely with normalizing power

accomplishes normalizing power is really

first-rate power the power that ensures

that you and I don't have to be jailed

because we wouldn't steal anyway the

power that ensure that we do what our

boss tells us because we believe in

hierarchy and perhaps desire to climb in

that hierarchy and be bosses ourselves

one future day Foucault goes on to point

out that while repressive powers often

focused in very specific institutions

and individuals the police force the

army the judge the bosses the

politicians

normalizing power on the other hand is

everywhere the family is a source of

normalizing power and so is the school

the University the hospital the

psychiatric clinic and even the

commercial break on television which

tells me that I should desire to smell

of musk and ginger if we want to

understand how power works these are the

institutions that we need to analyze and

understand and a large part of fuko's

work is dedicated to doing exactly that

two important things follow from fucose

view first the power is not something

that is wielded by a few powerful people

at the expense of others unfocus view

everybody is subjected to power Society

has given the employee idea of how an

employee should behave but it has also

given the boss an idea of how a boss

should behave the boss might have more

repressive power than the employee but

both of them are equally subjected to

normalizing power and the same holds for

everyone nobody is free second it

follows that scientific knowledge cannot

be divorced from power for one thing the

institutions which generate and spread

scientific knowledge are themselves

sources of normalizing power a

university education is turning the

student into a person who thinks and

acts in certain ways and by the time you

are a working scientist you will have

incorporated an entire way of thinking

so deeply that you'll never get rid of

it again

but perhaps even more importantly

scientific knowledge itself is an

extremely important standard of

normalization based on science

doctors get to decide whether I am sick

or healthy and thus whether it is normal

for society to expect me to work for my

money based on science

psychiatrists get to decide whether my

behavior is normal or a sign of mental

illness based on science economists get

the

at what age I can stop working based on

science historians get to decide what I

am taught about the origins of my

society and so on

science is not divorced from power it

plays an extremely important role in the

social structures that surround us and

those structures are continuously

exerting their normalizing power on each

of us so what's the use of knowing all

that again Foucault doesn't believe that

you can radically break from the ways

you have been shaped by society because

then there would be nothing left but he

does believe that by becoming aware of

all the many ways in which we are

subjected to power we can be a little

more autonomous than if we remained in

the dark about this and erroneously

believed ourselves to be as free as

birds