Insights for Can Michel Foucault to Provide for the Student of Medieval Outsiders - Outline Example

What insights, if any, can the writings of Michel Foucault provide for the of medieval outsiders? Introduction Knowledge acquisition is a gradual and progressive process that is intrinsic to human survival. Acquisition of knowledge is important because it equips human with skills and expertise to handle challenges and difficulties that they encounter with ease. Undoubtedly, this enhances their wellbeing and general standards of living. Various individuals have contributed to the sphere of knowledge since historical times. The characteristic facts, ideas, perceptions and views contribute significantly to the broader knowledge base. Using this knowledge, humans have gradually been able to understand the complexity of the problems that they encounter over time. Perhaps one of the main contributors to the body of knowledge includes Michel Foucault. Indeed, his exploration of science, philosophy, history and a host of other fields generated useful insights that inform current decisions in the academic sphere. It is against this background that this paper underscores contributions of Michel Foucault that are informative to the student of medieval ‘outsider’. Mental Illness This is well explored in his ‘A History of Madness”1. He provides an in depth evaluation of aspects pertaining to ideas, art, literature, practices and institutions that death with or associated themselves with madness. This is done in light of the Western History. Foucault posits that the disappearance of the social problem of leprosy paved way to insanity2. Initially during the 1500s, mad people were secluded from the society and sent away in ‘ship of fools’3. During the 1600s, persons suffering from insanity were considered unreasonable and therefore confined. In the 1700s, madness was considered a reverse of reason. The 19th century scholars referred to it as mental illness4. Madness was reportedly silenced by the power to reason. Reasonable individuals were able to think and act in a socially acceptable manner. Emergent treatments were more benign. They included aversion therapy and freezing showers5. They were characterized by a high degree of brutality. Leprosy According to Foucault, leprosy was a complex phenomenon whose occurrence was beyond the physical incapacitation6. From a medical point of view, the populations that were affected by it suffered immensely. The then societies feared the disease because of the medical implications that were associated with it. Just like mad people, lepers were secluded form the society Leper houses and halls were built to accommodate them7 The main aim for this was to prevent infection of the healthy faction of the society Leprosy vanished towards the end of middle ages However, relative structures still remained8. The resultant gap made it possible for populations to carry on with the practice of seclusion. Gradually, mad people started being given a similar treatment. In essence, they were considered social outcasts and were exposed to brutal treatment9. Discipline and Punish Foucault believes that discipline and punishment gives the persons in authority power over an individual who is punished10. Power in this regard is defined by professional knowledge thus judges, parole officers and the police are powerful. The degree and length of the disciplinary measure is depended on the decisions that are made by individuals in power11. These also determine the type of punishment that need to be reflective of the type of wrong that is committed by the prisoner. Discipline and punishment play distinct social and political roles of: Normalizing societal operations12 Marginalizing the affected society Asserting power positions in the society13 Preventing conflicts that undermine social growth14 Eliminating social deviance15 History of Sexuality Human sexuality has a direct influence on social as well as political power structuring16. The procedures and techniques that are employed in governance aim at guiding men’s behavior. This according to Edmond leads to examination of individual consciousness to ascertain whether the behaviors and mannerisms assumed are in line with the social expectations17. Sexuality also plays an important role in determining the identities of individuals18. Through this, the society is able to identify and label individuals as well as accord roles and responsibilities accordingly. Repression of sexuality during the 19th century culminated in an emergence and proliferation of various arguments regarding human sexuality19. Social deviance was closely associated with sexual labeling. Men engaged in social ills more often because they believed they were masculine and relatively more powerful than their female counterparts20. The Inquisition Indeed, leprosy had direct negative implications on the holistic wellbeing f the society. It greatly affected the social structures and influenced the values and virtues that the society upheld at that particular time. In response, the affected populations took practical measures to address the issue in an effective and sustainable manner. The aim was to cure the disease and restore the then society to normalcy. As indicated earlier, it had been greatly affected by the disease that threatened its very wellbeing. Practical measures that were undertaken to address this were wide and varied. They included: Constant inspection21 Registration Constant inspection of the houses and buildings Partitioning of space that housed the affected individuals22 Closing of houses The main aim for the above measures was to attain a society that was pure and devoid of any form of ‘impurities’23. Arguably, these measures were also geared towards instilling a sense of discipline in the population. The characteristic techniques and institutions seek to measure as well as supervise the abnormal beings. The inherent conditions ensured that they align their behaviors to the established societal laws, rules and regulations24. This also acted as a basement upon which both traditional and modern modes of governance were grounded. The fear of the disease was instrumental in enhancing effective governance25. Conclusion At this point, it cannot be disputed that the knowledge that is presented by Michel Foucault is beneficial to the modern day academicians. It presents useful insights regarding the history and origin of governance and politics. Through the exploration of themes relating to mental illness, discipline and punishment, insanity, history of human sexuality and inquisition, Foucault succeeds in informing the society about the dynamics in politics and governance. As it has come out from the study, the preceding factors interplay to culminate in a distinctive mode of governance. The inquisition indicates that the respective principles have been employed in informing modern day governance too. This information is paramount to the modern student as it explains the nature of modern governance. Understanding of the concepts is also vital in enhancing critical and creative thinking. Of great importance however are the problem resolution skills that the knowledge instills in the students. Bibliography Bass, A, Writing and difference, Chicago, University Press, 1988. Butler, J, Gender Trouble, New York: Rutledge, 1999 Caputo J, Foucault and the critique of institutions, Pennsylvania, University Press, 2006 Edmond R, Affairs of the hearth, New York, Rutledge, 1988 Eribon D, Insult and making of the gay self, Duke, University Press, 2004 Eribon D, Michel Foucault, Cambridge, University Press, 1991 Foucault M, Security, territory, population: lectures at the college France, Basingstoke, Palgrage Macmillan, 2007. Foucault M, Madness and civilization: A history of insanity in the age of reason, New York, Vintage, 1988 Foucault M, Discipline and punish, The birth of the prison, New York, Random House, 1975 Foucault, M, Surveiller et punir : Naissance de la prison, Paris, Gallimard, 1975. Freedman, P & Gabrielle S, Medievalisms old and new, The rediscovery of alterity in Month American medieval studies, AHR, p. 56-90 Given, J, Inquisition and medieval society, Power, discipline and resistance in Languedoc, New York, Ithaca, 1997 Gould T, Don’t fence me in, From curse to cure, Leprosy in modern times, USA. Kindle, 2005 Gutting G, The Cambridge companion to Foucault , Cambridge, University Press, 2006 Hardy A, The western medical tradition, Cambridge, University Press, 2006. Henry C, Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Its organization and operation, New York, Rutledge, 1963 Jeffery R, Sex, Dissidence and Damnation: Minority groups in the middle ages, Cambridge, University Press, 1991 Kuckreja S, & Gokhale D, Human face of leprosy, Leprosy elimination, Unfinished challenges, USA, Kindle, 2010 Lansing, C, Power and purity, Cathar heresy in Medieval Italy, Oxford, University Press, 1998 Mills S, Michel Foucault, New York, Routledge, 2003 McGee J, & Warms R, Anthropological theory, An introduction to history, New York, McGraw Hill, 2011 Norman C, Inventing the middle ages, The lives, works and ideas of the great medievalist of the twentieth century, New York, Routledge Sheridan A, Michel Foucault, The will to truth New York, Routledge, 1990 Still A, Re writing the history of madness, New York, Routledge, 1992 Wendy L, Global governmentality, New York, Rutledge, 2004 Read More