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Foucault And Power Analysis

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In this paper, an attempt is made to explain the importance of power and its effect on media and the key points of the Foucault/Habermas debate on power. This debate that has never took place in real life. The only interaction between Habermas and Foucault was in College de France when Foucault invited Habermas for a conference in 1983. Habermas and Foucault followers created this debate between genealogy and power analytics as ways to explain the behavior of power in society and the communicative rationality and discourse ethics other ways proposed by Habermas to explain the same behavior of power. In this paper, we will be talking about the ideas of Foucault in power and their relation with media. In addition, we will be mentioning the critiques …show more content…

It is not something that it is strictly related to the State. Foucault stated that power "reaches into the very grain of individuals, touches their bodies and inserts itself into their actions and attitudes, their discourses, learning processes and everyday lives" (Foucault, 1980). He tended to explain that power is not possessed by certain elite, or it is related exclusively to the actions of certain individuals. In addition, it reflects that Foucault is interested in people’s freedom and how people behave under various circumstances. So, power is everywhere, and it works in every level of the social body. Foucault’s definition of power opposed how the Marxist and Liberal theories defined it. They limited it just to the Bourgeoisie which is wrong according to Foucault who considers it as a cross-levels relation. In addition, he relates the existence of resistance to the existence of power, so wherever there is power, there is resistance. Moreover, when we talk about Foucault and power, we should mention the Power/Knowledge theory by Foucault which defines a correlation between and knowledge since knowledge is a form of power: Knowledge linked to power, not only assumes the authority of 'the truth' but has the power to make itself true. All knowledge, once applied in the real world, has effects, and in that sense at least, 'becomes true.' Knowledge, once used to regulate the conduct of others, entails …show more content…

The panopticon is a circular-like prison that facilitate the surveillance process. The panopticon allowed Foucault to explain the Power/Knowledge relationship and the actions of individuals in a disciplinary context. In order to understand the change in people’s behavior, he related the different actions of the observer and the observee (Foucault, 1977). The surveillance lead to the acceptance of the rules by the individuals being watched because they always act as someone is watching them even if this assumption can be wrong. On the other hand, Foucault focused also on the observer side to explain the Power/Knowledge relationship. The observer’s behavior changed depending on how the individuals that he or she is watching are acting. So, his or her behavior depends on how much knowledge he or she gained from the multiple observations. He or she became powerful according to the individuals because they know more about them (Foucault,

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