Public education is not just a way to organise and fund education. It is also the expression of a... more Public education is not just a way to organise and fund education. It is also the expression of a particular ideal about education and of a particular way to conceive of the relationship between ed...
The aim of this article is to examine three currently dominant concepts of discourse, developed b... more The aim of this article is to examine three currently dominant concepts of discourse, developed by Michel Foucault, Ernesto Laclau and Jürgen Habermas. I argue that these concepts of discourse constitute neither a coherent methodological agenda nor a coherent theoretical vision. That means that the reference to discourse will always imply engaging with a particular theoretical framework. I briefly discuss the theoretical traditions from which these concepts emerged and point to the essential elements which the respective concepts of discourse derived from these traditions. Concluding, I examine differences between and similarities in the discussed concepts, whereby I address, in particular, the relationship between discourse and everyday language, the notion of subjectivity and the concept of the social world.
The aim of this article is to examine three currently dominant concepts of discourse, developed b... more The aim of this article is to examine three currently dominant concepts of discourse, developed by Michel Foucault, Ernesto Laclau and Jürgen Habermas. I argue that these concepts of discourse constitute neither a coherent methodological agenda nor a coherent theoretical vision. That means that the reference to discourse will always imply engaging with a particular theoretical framework. I briefly discuss the theoretical traditions from which these concepts emerged and point to the essential elements which the respective concepts of discourse derived from these traditions. Concluding, I examine differences between and similarities in the discussed concepts, whereby I address, in particular, the relationship between discourse and everyday language , the notion of subjectivity and the concept of the social world.
Genealogy as critique: Habermas vs. Foucault
The aim of this paper is to respond to the objectio... more Genealogy as critique: Habermas vs. Foucault The aim of this paper is to respond to the objections raised by Jürgen Habermas in his work The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity against Michel Foucault's concept of genealogical critique. In my response I draw primarily on Foucault's methodological texts and I demonstrate the strong connections of his ideas to the French historical epistemology of Gaston Bachelard and Georges Canguilhem. This connections concern mainly the ideas of the " recurrent method " and the " history of error " developed in this tradition. I argue that these ideas refute Habermas' allegations against Foucault's view of history (presentism) as well as his approach to the problem of truth (relativism). At the concluding part of my paper I focus on Foucault's concept of freedom, emphasizing the practical and " anti-romantic " character of this concept and its connection to the Marxian idea of emancipation (the objection of cryptonormativism).
In this paper I discuss and criticize Michael Walzer’s concept of social criticism. I detect in h... more In this paper I discuss and criticize Michael Walzer’s concept of social criticism. I detect in his proj- ect an unacknowledged attempt at the reactivation of the young-Marxian idea of criticism as a “reform of consciousness”. However, I argue, Walzer challenges one of the most prominent and controversial as- sumptions of the Marxian project – the existence of the universal subject of emancipation. I claim that while Walzer’s elimination of this universal claims of social criticism is an understandable and impor- tant attempt at freeing political thought from philosophical illusions, it takes away the most significant reason for social criticism ﱂ an effort of oppressed groups at emancipation from domination. I agree with Walzer’s critique of the universality of the oppressed subject at the basis of Marxian thought. How- ever, what I find troubling in Walzer’s idea is the resulting separation of criticism and emancipation, and this separation presents an impasse that I will try to illuminate in my article.
Rasiński L., Power, Discourse, and Subject. The Case of Laclau and Foucault, 2011
In this text the author draws on two contemporary accounts of power—by Michel Foucault and Ernest... more In this text the author draws on two contemporary accounts of power—by Michel Foucault and Ernesto Laclau—and, on the basis of thorough analysis and comparison, he argues for “the discursive account of power” (DAP) as a new concept reflecting the novel approach to the theory of power developed by these two philosophers. He opens with a broad methodological outline of contemporary concepts of power, distinguishing between the “classical” and the “modern” approaches. Basing his find-ings on Laclau’s and Foucault’s work, he then presents DAP as a theory characterized by decentralizing, on normative, and conflict-based tendencies that does not exhibit many of the limitations that usually characterize both classical and modern concepts of power. In the second part of the article the author presents a detailed methodological analysis of Foucault’s and Laclau’s concepts of power, focusing on three axes: power, discourse, and the subject. The author dedicates the last section to a comparison of both approaches, concluding that DAP is an inspiring project that exceeds the limits of traditional liberal theories of power and politics.
The aim of the study was to demonstrate how Foucault's ethics, which we understand as a tension b... more The aim of the study was to demonstrate how Foucault's ethics, which we understand as a tension between exclusion and emancipation, helps both critically reassess two disability models that prevail in the contemporary literature concerning disability, that is the medical model and the social one, and support and inspire an ethical project of including people with disabilities in spheres of life from which they have been excluded by various power/knowledge regimes. We claim, following Foucault, that such a project should be informed by critical reflection on exclusion-generating forms of knowledge about people with disabilities and focused on individual ethical actions fostering self-realization and emancipation of people with disability.
Public education is not just a way to organise and fund education. It is also the expression of a... more Public education is not just a way to organise and fund education. It is also the expression of a particular ideal about education and of a particular way to conceive of the relationship between ed...
The aim of this article is to examine three currently dominant concepts of discourse, developed b... more The aim of this article is to examine three currently dominant concepts of discourse, developed by Michel Foucault, Ernesto Laclau and Jürgen Habermas. I argue that these concepts of discourse constitute neither a coherent methodological agenda nor a coherent theoretical vision. That means that the reference to discourse will always imply engaging with a particular theoretical framework. I briefly discuss the theoretical traditions from which these concepts emerged and point to the essential elements which the respective concepts of discourse derived from these traditions. Concluding, I examine differences between and similarities in the discussed concepts, whereby I address, in particular, the relationship between discourse and everyday language, the notion of subjectivity and the concept of the social world.
The aim of this article is to examine three currently dominant concepts of discourse, developed b... more The aim of this article is to examine three currently dominant concepts of discourse, developed by Michel Foucault, Ernesto Laclau and Jürgen Habermas. I argue that these concepts of discourse constitute neither a coherent methodological agenda nor a coherent theoretical vision. That means that the reference to discourse will always imply engaging with a particular theoretical framework. I briefly discuss the theoretical traditions from which these concepts emerged and point to the essential elements which the respective concepts of discourse derived from these traditions. Concluding, I examine differences between and similarities in the discussed concepts, whereby I address, in particular, the relationship between discourse and everyday language , the notion of subjectivity and the concept of the social world.
Genealogy as critique: Habermas vs. Foucault
The aim of this paper is to respond to the objectio... more Genealogy as critique: Habermas vs. Foucault The aim of this paper is to respond to the objections raised by Jürgen Habermas in his work The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity against Michel Foucault's concept of genealogical critique. In my response I draw primarily on Foucault's methodological texts and I demonstrate the strong connections of his ideas to the French historical epistemology of Gaston Bachelard and Georges Canguilhem. This connections concern mainly the ideas of the " recurrent method " and the " history of error " developed in this tradition. I argue that these ideas refute Habermas' allegations against Foucault's view of history (presentism) as well as his approach to the problem of truth (relativism). At the concluding part of my paper I focus on Foucault's concept of freedom, emphasizing the practical and " anti-romantic " character of this concept and its connection to the Marxian idea of emancipation (the objection of cryptonormativism).
In this paper I discuss and criticize Michael Walzer’s concept of social criticism. I detect in h... more In this paper I discuss and criticize Michael Walzer’s concept of social criticism. I detect in his proj- ect an unacknowledged attempt at the reactivation of the young-Marxian idea of criticism as a “reform of consciousness”. However, I argue, Walzer challenges one of the most prominent and controversial as- sumptions of the Marxian project – the existence of the universal subject of emancipation. I claim that while Walzer’s elimination of this universal claims of social criticism is an understandable and impor- tant attempt at freeing political thought from philosophical illusions, it takes away the most significant reason for social criticism ﱂ an effort of oppressed groups at emancipation from domination. I agree with Walzer’s critique of the universality of the oppressed subject at the basis of Marxian thought. How- ever, what I find troubling in Walzer’s idea is the resulting separation of criticism and emancipation, and this separation presents an impasse that I will try to illuminate in my article.
Rasiński L., Power, Discourse, and Subject. The Case of Laclau and Foucault, 2011
In this text the author draws on two contemporary accounts of power—by Michel Foucault and Ernest... more In this text the author draws on two contemporary accounts of power—by Michel Foucault and Ernesto Laclau—and, on the basis of thorough analysis and comparison, he argues for “the discursive account of power” (DAP) as a new concept reflecting the novel approach to the theory of power developed by these two philosophers. He opens with a broad methodological outline of contemporary concepts of power, distinguishing between the “classical” and the “modern” approaches. Basing his find-ings on Laclau’s and Foucault’s work, he then presents DAP as a theory characterized by decentralizing, on normative, and conflict-based tendencies that does not exhibit many of the limitations that usually characterize both classical and modern concepts of power. In the second part of the article the author presents a detailed methodological analysis of Foucault’s and Laclau’s concepts of power, focusing on three axes: power, discourse, and the subject. The author dedicates the last section to a comparison of both approaches, concluding that DAP is an inspiring project that exceeds the limits of traditional liberal theories of power and politics.
The aim of the study was to demonstrate how Foucault's ethics, which we understand as a tension b... more The aim of the study was to demonstrate how Foucault's ethics, which we understand as a tension between exclusion and emancipation, helps both critically reassess two disability models that prevail in the contemporary literature concerning disability, that is the medical model and the social one, and support and inspire an ethical project of including people with disabilities in spheres of life from which they have been excluded by various power/knowledge regimes. We claim, following Foucault, that such a project should be informed by critical reflection on exclusion-generating forms of knowledge about people with disabilities and focused on individual ethical actions fostering self-realization and emancipation of people with disability.
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Papers by Lotar Rasiński
The aim of this paper is to respond to the objections raised by Jürgen Habermas in his work The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity against Michel Foucault's concept of genealogical critique. In my response I draw primarily on Foucault's methodological texts and I demonstrate the strong connections of his ideas to the French historical epistemology of Gaston Bachelard and Georges Canguilhem. This connections concern mainly the ideas of the " recurrent method " and the " history of error " developed in this tradition. I argue that these ideas refute Habermas' allegations against Foucault's view of history (presentism) as well as his approach to the problem of truth (relativism). At the concluding part of my paper I focus on Foucault's concept of freedom, emphasizing the practical and " anti-romantic " character of this concept and its connection to the Marxian idea of emancipation (the objection of cryptonormativism).
Other by Lotar Rasiński
The aim of this paper is to respond to the objections raised by Jürgen Habermas in his work The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity against Michel Foucault's concept of genealogical critique. In my response I draw primarily on Foucault's methodological texts and I demonstrate the strong connections of his ideas to the French historical epistemology of Gaston Bachelard and Georges Canguilhem. This connections concern mainly the ideas of the " recurrent method " and the " history of error " developed in this tradition. I argue that these ideas refute Habermas' allegations against Foucault's view of history (presentism) as well as his approach to the problem of truth (relativism). At the concluding part of my paper I focus on Foucault's concept of freedom, emphasizing the practical and " anti-romantic " character of this concept and its connection to the Marxian idea of emancipation (the objection of cryptonormativism).