by slimboyfat 6 Replies latest jw friends
Can anyone understand a bloody word the man wrote?
I am trying really hard.
Have read Archaeology of Knowledge and part of The Order of Things. The reason I persist is because I am sure he is saying something really worthwhile, if only I could make head or tail of it. There are flashes of brilliance, but in a general haze of terms an analogies the sense of which I still have to grasp.
Slim
I'll take that as a "couldn't care less", then.
Slim
I've read most of his "Discipline and Punish," and I think he's spot on with the panopticon analysis. But I haven't read any of his other works. Good luck!
I've been reading his History of Insanity in the Age of Reason recently and enjoyed it a lot. His "archaeological" approach of modern "certainties" opened the way to the best and the worst of "post-modernism" and "deconstruction," making him one essential thinker in the second half of the 20th century. It's not an easy read but keep it on, it's rewarding.
Debunking Foucault is merely a matter of persistence and reading comprehension, combined with the logical capability of perceiving what is not there. As such, being able to successfully counter-argue his work should be required of all liberal arts students.
Unfortunately, most students (and many academics) seem to believe that the mere completion of Foucault is an accomplishment.
You're on you own with this one mate. I only read books with pretty pictures. Lots of pretty pictures.
Good luck though...
I consider Foucault to be the academic equivalent of the emperor's new clothes. Nobody can really understand him, they just have to pretend they can or look like they don't belong in academia. Saying that in a social science grad class gets some pretty amusing reactions.
Most social science theory is just common sense dressed up in incomprehensible gobbledygook anyway.
