Panopticism in a Disciplinary Government Essay - 785 Words

Panopticism in a Disciplinary Government Discipline is an action, or idea that has been around for hundreds of years. We are all familiar with it, as we experience some form of it every day. As Foucault describes, before the age of enlightenment, the ways of punishing deviants was pure physical torture. During this time, the person who had the ability to inflict physical pain on an individual had power over that person. As in most cases, the tormentors were part of the Kings staff, or a normal citizen outraged by the act the criminal committed against his beloved King. Lucky for us, the age of enlightenment came along. People no longer blamed natural disasters such as a tornado or a flood on God, they were learning that†¦show more content†¦This worked so well because citizens would govern each other into acting normal, or in other words, the way the people in power wanted them to act. People became afraid to act in a way that might make people think that they were odd, so they gladly acted like everyone else and didnt cause any trouble. In such a process, the one in power usually isnt a co nscious factor in an individuals process of self normalization, due to the fact that they make themselves invisible and instill their norms in subtle ways. This is a prime example of panopticism, a theory developed by Jeremy Bentham. In panopticism, the people govern, or normalize themselves, because they never know if the people in power are watching them. It turns the society into an orderly, mechanized, productive group. It is much easier to do the right thing, rather than risk the chance of getting punished by government. The government scare the people so that they dont misbehave. But you never really know if they are watching you or not, so you assume that they are for the majority of the time. This makes the people in power invisible to the common citizen. They dont know exactly who is governing them, but they know they are there. This concept worked very well, as it is still happening today. We dont need the government to teach us how to act because we do it ourselves, and to each other. We are always veryShow MoreRelatedFoucault once stated, â€Å"Our society is one not of spectacle, but of surveillance; under the surface800 Words   |  4 Pagesfull of constant supervision that is not easily seen nor displayed. In his essay, Panopticism, Foucault goes into detail about the different disciplinary societies and how surveillance has become a big part of our lives today. He explains how the disciplinary mechanisms have dramatically changed in comparison to the middle ages. Foucault analyzes in particular the Panopticon, which was a blueprint of a disciplinary institution. The idea of this institution was for inmates to be seen but not to seeRead MoreIs Foucault s Panopticism?930 Words   |  4 PagesTo start, is Foucault s Panopticism. Panopticism uses the idea of Bentham’s Panopticon to elaborate the disciplinary ideas that he is trying to explain. The Panopticon is an â€Å"all seeing† structure that makes observations without the people ever knowin g when they were being watched, even though it is clearly visible (Foucault, 204). Its gaze can be upon anyone, from a â€Å"madman, a patient, a condemned man† (Foucault, 200). These features allow Panopticism to be a passive power, rather than an activeRead More Panopticism Essay753 Words   |  4 PagesIn his essay â€Å"Panopticism,† Michel Foucault introduces the Panopticon structure as proof of modern society tending toward efficient disciplinary mechanisms. 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