Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Foucault, Part One: Torture

Damiens (regicide) 1757 --> Faucher 1837

Between these two times was the enlightenment:
logic over belief
science over tradition
education increased
religion pushed aside, etc.
Isaac Newton said with math you can know the mind of God
equality
Adam Smith- "Wealth of Nations" 1776
Jeremy Bentham- theory of utilitarianism
rise of rationalism= calculability of everything
move from monarchy to democracy

Correlative History:
Body --> Soul
Damiens --> Faucher
Torture --> Timetable

All these were the same manifestations in the way the culture thinks about power and control.

Leper --> Plague
Separation --> Segmentation
Mark --> Analysis of distribution
Pure community --> Disciplined society

The general thesis is that this looks like progressive humanization but it is not. It is the process by which power makes itself less and less obtrusive.

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