Friday, November 16, 2012
Power of Knowledge and Cults
Today in class we discussed Foucault's notion of the power of knowledge. The discussion seemed to center on how the most powerful form the power of knowledge can take is in the production of docile subjects. A docile subject in this context is basically someone who is persuaded to believe a truth without actually being aware of the inherent persuasion. I think that in addition to being the most powerful form of knowledge it can be extremely dangerous and often times abused. Once an individual has mastered the ability to make docile subjects they can spread their ideas to other people and truly make them their subjects. This type of persuasion is often found in cults or extremist groups in which a leader is able to create a rhetoric or system of thinking that lends itself to the members so they feel like they are genuinely having the same original thoughts as the leader. I think being able to understand these types of interactions will help society further their understanding of cults and extremist organizations so that they can be prevented and defused more easily. This is important because in the last half century there have been multiple examples from the Nazis to Charles Manson and his "family"to terrorist organizations . With these examples there is a notion of fear and violence that is accompanied with their mention and their actions. The simple truth though is that they are only possible through the power of knowledge and the leaders ability to create docile subjects that will not only completely believe in the leaders ideas but follow them as if they where their own. I think that this is another way to look at Foucault's idea of the power of knowledge and how it can be applied to the physical world.
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You defined a docile subject as “someone who is persuaded to believe a truth without actually being aware of the inherent persuasion. You then went on to discuss how cults like the Nazis and Charles Manson’s followers were full of docile subjects. While I was reading your blog post, I kept asking myself “aren’t we all docile subjects in some sort of way?” I mean, we can never be fully aware of the “inherent persuasion” when we follow a religion, join a sorority or fraternity, pick a college, start dating someone new, or get to know people. One could go as far as to say, we are all docile subjects of our parents, the government, and even society. Whether we admit it or not, we are all subjects of something.
ReplyDeleteWill,
ReplyDeleteI agree the the power to produce docile subjects is one of the most dangerous types of power. With this, one can make their beliefs contagious. The more followers the belief gains, the more power it has to produce docile subjects. I do not think, however, that this power lies in the hands of a person such as Hitler or Manson. Rather, I believe it is the belief itself that holds the power to produce the subjects. After all, both examples you mentioned believed in an idea so strongly that they felt the world needed to feel the same. In a way, they are like the "nutrients" for the seed that is the idea. They are also docile subjects, victim to an idea which led them to act in cruel and heartless ways. So, while the power you speak of is the greatest, I think it is the ideas and beliefs that exist in this world that hold the power.