The Interplay of Power, Knowledge and the Self - Subject and the Art of Telling the Truth in Michel Foucault

Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Philosophy - Philosophy of the 20th century, , language: English, abstract: It is quite interesting to notice that as Foucault re-imagined his entire intellectual endeavour, he rightly elevated one aspect of his interest to the heart of the entire problematic whether it be his study of knowledge or power or even human behaviour - and that is the problem of subject. Though an idea of a 'passive subject' is implicit in his early studies, as they deal with the discursive formations and power, it is only in Foucault's later writings that 'subject' emerges as the major concern. Subject here becomes central to one function that is the function of "telling the truth,' especially, in a historical formation in which 'truth' is something that is granted and is produced in an environment of inter-related discursive and non-discursive systems.