UC Berkeley

Foucault argues the subject is a function of regimes of power/knowledge. The claim seems to be valid as the composed one that all agency is influenced by its social context: the subject is not autonomous. The claim is not valid as the excitable one that all actions and beliefs are fixed by their social context: the subject is an agent who can make choices and act creatively against a given social background. This essay then sets outs to explore the normative implications of a composed reading of Foucault through his work on governmentality and an ethic of care for the self. To begin, a composed reading is shown to be sufficient to sustain the critical force of genealogy. Then it is shown to support an ethical preference for power that recognises the other as an agent rather than violence. Finally it is shown to support an ethical preference for technologies of the self that resist the normalizing effects of modern power.