Foucault Technical Terms
Or, 100 Greek terms used in Foucault*
|
This page attempts to shed some light on a number of technical terms used by Foucault in his later (1978-) work. Many of these are to do with his technologies of the self. References
used: |
| Exagoreusis.
[Lexicon: exagoreuo: to speak out, publish, divulge.] Perseus: exagoreusis a telling out, betrayal |
|
Foucault’s
use:
|
| Exomologesis:
As a penitent you were to manifest the truth (exomologesis). This took place
at the end of penitence as an act of faith. See resume du cours 1980
"on the government of the living". [Lexicon: Exomologeo or exomologeomai,
to confess in full, admit. II. To make full acknowledgement for, praise,
celebrate. Exomorgnymi, to wipe off from II. To wipe off from oneself: hence
to impart to another: to wipe out or purge away a pollution. NT Lex: exomologeo
or exomologesa 1. Promise, consent Lk 22:6 "he consented…" 2. Confess, admit
Matthew, 3:6 "confessing their sins they were baptised…" exomologesis praise
of God or intercessory prayer more generally.] So, F. says it is a big act
of penance, sackcloth etc. (172). Lasts from say 2nd C. AD thru to 15th-16th.
Was public. Notes that Tertullian [early Roman Christian, 2nd C. AD] called
this publicatio sui, to publish yourself. To exhibit your sinning
body. Perseus: exomologeomai |
|
Foucault’s
use: “Hermeneutics of the Self,” in Carrette, p. 172
|
| Gnomé:
Christian confession falls within what is called gnomé, or the unity of
will and knowledge. [Lexicon: gnomé is a means of knowing, a mark, token.
II the mind, the judgment, 2. Will, purpose. 3. A judgment, opinion, also
a mistaken judgment, fancy. 4. A purpose, intention, resolution. Note also
that a gnomon can be a carpenter's rule (Lat. norma) and hence a rule or
guide of life. NT Lexicon: 1. Purpose, intention, mind. (1 Cor. 1.10) 2.
Opinion, judgment. I Cor 7:40 "in my judgment…" 3. Previous knowledge, consent.
4. Decision, declaration. ]This approach existed at least to the 1st century
AD. Also: The gnomic self. |
|
Foucault’s
use: “Hermeneutics of the Self,” in Carrette, p. 168
|
| Hupomnemata: Notebooks and reminders used in the practice of the self. F. differentiates the Greek use of these (in Stoic times at least) from the later Christian practice of confessional texts. On the contrary, says F., hupomnemata were used not to uncover the hidden self through disclosure and confession, but to record the already-said. |
|
Foucault’s
use: “Self-Writing,” in Essential Foucault; Cours
1981-82
|
|
Parrhesia: frank or fearless speech. The subject of Foucault’s very last lectures in 1983-84 and given in English at Berkeley in Fall 1983 as “Discourse and Truth: the Problematization of Parrhsia.” Although it has a negative sense of garrulousness, Foucault concentrates on its positivities, namely: its dangerousness, its role in duty, and its constitution as truth. Perseus: parrêsia |
|
Foucault’s
use: Fearless
speech
|
|
Technê: art, craft, skill (Gr. tecnh). In Aristotle technê is contrasted with epistêmê (scientific knowledge) in Nicomachean Ethics (Bk. VI, Chap. 3) as well as prudence/practical wisdom (phronêsis), wisdom (sophia) and intelligence (nous). These are the five ways in which we may arrive at the truth. However, Heidegger had an interesting interpretation of technê as a mode of revealing the truth, as a bringing-forth or creation/production (poiêsis). This might sound close to Aristotle, but Heidegger differentiates between technê as making something and technê as revealing. (Actually Heid. thought he was close to Aristotle, it was the traditional translations and interpretations that were inadequate.) For Heidegger, modern technology is not the same as the poiêsis of the Greeks but rather something which casts everything (eg., in nature) as potential resources that can be extracted (see "The Question Concerning Technology"). This too is inadequate. The relevance of all this to Foucault's work can now be appreciated. Technê is not art compared to science but a question of bringing forth the truth. In Foucault this means that the "technologies of the self" are a question of brining forth the truth about oneself as an aesthetics of life. Foucault's position on this and his usage of Greek sources is a little controversial and was challenged by his friend and colleague Pierre Hadot. |
|
Still to come: Aphrodisia History of sexuality, vol. 2, 3 |
|
References cited Carrette, J. (Ed.). 1999. Religion and culture. New York: Routledge. Foucault, M. 2001. L'Hermeneutic du sujet: course au College de France 1981-82. Paris: Seuil. Rabinow, P. (Ed.). 1997. Ethics subjectivity and truth. Vol III of essential Foucault.
*Yes I know there are not 100 terms listed here. It was just a good number. Actually I wonder if he really used that many! Probably not. |