Foucaults Analysis of the Body - Essay Example

DISCUSS THE EXTENT TO WHICH A FOUCAULDIAN ANALYSIS OF THE BODY ENABLES SOCIOLOGISTS TO UNDERSTAND THE VARYING S OF HUMAN HEALTH. ofWriter] [Course's Title] [Instructor's Name] [Issue Date] Introduction Michael Foucault (1926-1984) was a French philosopher and theorist. He was one of the early victims of AIDS. Though, Foucault's views were revolutionary in the beginning, today they have become a part of normal medical practice (Nettleton, 1992). According to Gilbert (2005), Foucault was highly interested in the "manner in which knowledge and power circulated in a social setting." In addition, he also wrote about the various methods of governing populations. He believed that we needed to view medicine as a societal need for the overall "surveillance and regulation of human bodies." He is also known for his studies on institutions (psychiatry, medicine and the prison). In addition, he is famous for his work in the field of sexuality. His research is often described as postmodernist and post-structuralism (Wikipedia Encyclopedia). Psychoanalysis Foucault focused on the dangers posed by psychoanalysis in the development of a disciplinary society (Milchman, Rosenberg 2003). One of the main reasons that Foucault emphasized on the subject of psychoanalysis is because it is a topic on which modern thought processes are based. The way we see our selves, our surroundings and the reality around us are all based on psychoanalysis. During the 1950's and 1960's many renowned scientists of the time designated homosexuality as pathological and ill. On the other hand, the adoption of heterosexual behavior (even for the homosexuals) was deemed as correct and righteous. Foucault was highly concerned about the cruelty imposed by various institutions on patients who were not deemed as proper in the face of the society in general. Hence, this justifies his reasons for providing sufficient warnings about the dangers of psychoanalysis. The Foucault methodology does not imply how a person should be but rather focuses on the reasons behind certain behavioral patterns of the patient. Until recently gays did not have any rights in the western society; and neither did children, the old, the mentally ill and the criminals. Foucault has laid the groundwork in his studies to provide these subjugated and oppressed members of the society with proper and due rights. It has been mentioned in a paper by Pryce (1999) that psychoanalysis may be used to obtain information of a "confessional nature" from a patient. This information may be about a topic that the patient is unable to discuss (such as sexual abuse). Three basic steps are used for the process of receiving such information. The direct citation from the paper is given as follows; "First, the medical consultation and examination includes asking the client questions concerning the particulars of sexual activities, orientation and risk behaviors and then physically examining the client. These are often illustrated using preprinted, small diagram of disembodied genitalia or rectum where the physician indicates the site of a lesion by inscribing an X'. Second, during specimen collections and treatments conducted by nurses there is a professional incitement to confess feelings and disclosure of psychosocial dimensions of sexuality. Third, the role of the health advisor and/or psychologist may include that of counselor utilizing some techniques and methods derived from formal counseling and psychology, whereby the client speaks the sin by naming it." Sexuality and Foucault's Work In accordance to Foucault's work sexuality can be viewed in two different ways. The eastern society (e.g. India) sees sexuality as an art form (e.g. Kamasutra), whereas the other type society thinks of sexuality as something to be shameful of and to hide from the public eye. However, in the case of Western society has resulted in the ideology of "confession." This includes the confessions about one's sexuality and sexual origins. Confession is an everyday part of the western society. Be it in the judiciary system, in medicine or in religion; it is thought of as a profoundly good deed to confess about the negativities in life. These negativities could be a crime that the person has committed and/or it could be something that a person has hidden from the people who know him/her. According to Foucault, only when a patient confesses to his or her sins, shamefulness or any other negative thing, can a person really begin to heal. This not only helps to reveal something that is hidden (such as child abuses) but also helps to bring out something that a patient is not willing to accept or admit (such as being gay). However, a number of drawbacks to this process have been mentioned in the paper; one of them being that nurses are often not in a position to handle a response that may come as a surprise (that is, the admission of the patient lies outside the realm of responses that the nurse has studied and prepared herself for). In addition it has been mentioned that all forms of psychotherapy (with the exception of drugs and behavior modification) is based on psychoanalysis. The Medical Physician Foucault (1977) was one of the first scientists that described implied that the medical field leads us to look at the human body in a unique manner. For the first time an ill body became a thing that needed to be modified. A patient's body was no longer just one large item; rather it was a combination of organs, vessels, bones and other structures. And each of these needed special care and attention. This was also important as it limited the "inter-personal relationship" between doctor and patient and thus, made it more professional. A doctor no longer needed to think about a patient as that particular person, instead, by thinking about a patient in terms of organs and bones etc., a physician cold simply focus on the illness. In addition, he described the importance for a patient to have his/her own personal space especially during illness. Foucault's Theory on Old Age and Power Relationships Wahidin and Powell (2003), in their paper on the reconfiguring of old bodies, through the application of a biomedical model, apply Foucault's theories and inform us that the human body is a type of medium, which is neither transitory nor static in nature. But, on the other hand, it moves through time and it constantly changes itself. Turner (1987) believed that Foucault's theories have given rise to the concept of "preventive, social and community medicine." Further more, he believed that the physician had taken over the role of a mentor and a religious scholar. Thus, it came upon the physician to educate his/her patients on the moral well being of the society. In addition, the medical doctor had also become the upholder of "traditional values." This is where the concept of 'power relation' comes in. However, a power relation does not have to be negative in nature, where one person is superior then another or where one being takes un-due advantage of the other. Rather, a power-relation can have certain boundaries that need not be crossed by any of the parties (as in the case of a confessor and priest; there is a boundary and a certain amount of decorum present, that is not crossed over). In addition, the power relation can be mutually beneficial to both parties (such as in the case of a teacher and student; the teacher earns a livelihood by being supportive of the student, whereas the student learns from the teacher). In addition, there may be many reasons for the formulation of a power-relation. For example, in the case of a parent and a child, a power relation is formed simply because of the love and respect between the two parties. Thus such a relationship need not be oppressing and depredatory. Foucault sees such a relationship as a means to establish some order in a chaotic society. Without order and power relationships, no system would be able to operate in our society. Similarly, the concept of a hospital (an institution) also gives us an insight into the power structure in the case of health related issues. That is, he believed that people had to subjugate themselves and give up their freedom to the institution of a hospital in order to regain their health and to better them. Thus, this was not in an oppressive manner, but any prevention that was imposed on the patient was to make him/her better. The prevention could be as small as to stay out of the cold weather and to take medications on time to not eating fatty foods to prevent cholesterol problems. All of these have arisen as a result of the study by Foucault. Institutions: According to Foucault In addition, Foucault has also related old age homes to prison institutions. He has argued that the role of subjugation and interrogation are not only confined to the criminal justice system, but a person faces such through out his or her life. A person has to subjugate to the law of the land as well as the culture in which he lives in. According to Arrigo and Williams (1999), the confinement of the non-criminal is cruel and unjust. The reasons (such as; mental illness) on which the hospital and the state isolate and lock-up people who though, have committed no crime are thought to be potentially harmful to mankind is dangerously productive and ultimately increase the regimes' (the hospital or prison) power over the people. It has also been stated that this process, if continues will eventually rid the state of anything and any one who is 'different' than mainstream society. Though by institutionalizing people who have done no crime, the state is opinion that it is providing a service or welfare to the society. However, the criteria for putting mentally disabled or old people in instructions by the state based are questionable in itself. Another aspect that Foucault discussed was that of power versus language. By controlling the means of communication (that is the language), he believed that the outcome of a certain situation could also be controlled. Thus, power had a very strong relationship with language. Bio-Power The term "bio-power" has also been coined by Foucault; this includes the increase in the practice of "ordering" under the guise of welfare and betterment of mankind and society. This concept came into being at the end of the seventeenth century when people state became more aware of the need to help it's fellow citizens with community related issues and topics. This occurs to the extent that the state that a person lives in has the rights to make rules and regulations that have since the beginning of time been concerned with the individual person. For example, the concept of fertility and sexuality comes in. The state today, can help its citizens to become more fertile so, as to produce more people for the nation. On the other hand, it can also put a ban on the number of children that a family can have (such as the two children policy in China). However, since the beginning of time, the number of children that a person has was never a concern for the government of a state at large. Thus, the state can make policies that are for the betterment (in the opinion of the state) of its people at large however; they may affect each individual in a very minute manner. The Judges of Normality in Present Day Society A direct citation from Foucault (1977) is given below; "The judges of normality are everywhere. We are in the society of the teacher-judge, the doctor-judge, the educator-judge, the social worker-judge; it is on them that the universal reign of the normative is based; and each individual, wherever he may find himself, subjects it to the body, his gestures, his behavior, his aptitudes, his achievements. network, in its compact or disseminated forms, with its systems of insertion, distribution, surveillance, observation has been the greatest support, in modern society, of the normalizing power." Conclusion Therefore, with the above given point of views, we can easily summarize our findings on Foucault into a few lines. The role of modern medicine and society go hand in hand. It is mandatory to have a regulation of bodies both at the individual and population level. Management discourse plays a vital role in the management and good treatment of a patient. Preventive medicine is to play a powerful role in our lives. Medical doctors now have to act as coaches or moral guides of a sort in today's world. To now answer the essay topic; the Foucauldian analysis has provided us with the basic methodologies of medicine at a grass root level. It is therefore, up to us to upon this and finds means and methods to incorporate it into our medical professions in general and into the lives of our patients in specific. Armstrong (1983) has worked upon Foucault's genealogical methods to formulate the plans for a 'dispensary.' Nettleton (1995) has worked upon the methodologies of Foucault to find out the 'differential methods in which bodies are formulated and understood.' Similarly, Bloor and Macintosh (1990) have studied differential way for community care. In conclusion, the Foucauldian psychoanalysis of the body understands the varying states of human health in a highly profound manner and would be of immense help to the sociologists at any time in history; as it provides the basis on which all other theories may be built. Bibliography Armstrong, D (1983) Political Anatomy of the Body: Medical Knowledge in Britain in the Twentieth Century, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. Arigio B. and Williams C. (1999) Chaos theory and the social control thesis: a post-Foucauldian analysis of mental illness and involuntary civil confinement, Questia Media America, (Accessed from the site on May 24th 2006) http://www.questia.com/PM.qsta=o&d=5001290310 Azrini, W. and Powell J. (2003) Reconfiguring Old Bodies: From the Biomedical Model to a Critical Epistemology, Sincronia Summer Bloor, M and McIntosh, J (1990) 'Surveillance and Concealment', in Cunningham Burley, S and McKegany, N (Eds.) Readings in Medical Sociology, London: Rutledge Powell J. and Edwards M. (2002) Policy Narratives of Aging: The Right Way, the Third Way or the Wrong Way Electronic Journal of Sociology. Gilbert T. (2005) Trust and Managerialism: Exploring Discourses of Care Journal of Advanced Nursing, 52(4), 454-463. Nettleton, S (1995) 'From the Hospital to Community Care: Foucauldian Analyses', in Heyman, B (Ed.) Researching User Perspectives in Health Care, London: Chapman and Hall Milchman A. and Rosenberg A. (2003) Foucault and Heidegger: Critical Encounters, University of Minnosota Press. vol 16. Pryce A. (1999) Frequent observation: sexualities, self-surveillance, confession and the construction of the active patient, Nursing Inquiry 2000; 7 : 103-111 Turner BS. (1997) From Governmentality to Risk: Some reflections on Foucault's contribution to medical sociology. In Foucault: Health and medicine, eds A Petersen and R Bunton, ix-xxii. London: Routledge. Wikipedia, (accessed from the internet on 24th May 2006) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Foucault Read More