Foucault, M., Discipline and Punish

DISCIPLINE AND PUNISH

Michel Foucault 's Discipline and Punish does not limit itself to the scrutiny of how different classes within a society interact with each other . If one would look closely , the book talks mainly about the individual and how each one of us let society affect the way we act and the way we live . Michel Foucault sends the message that the control of the sovereign command of the king and the supremacy of the elite as opposed to the masses can still be seen from what is happening today

The way people think , react , and move is still dictated by a higher command that people fail to consider . To Foucault , the way people adhere to this power ' does not only mean blind adherence but rather , he sees this as hiding the truth ' that lies within each individual

Michel Foucault starts his discourse by focusing first on the idea and concept of the body and punishment . In the early times , the use of torture as a means of punishment has roused a constant battle between the State and its inhabitants . The necessity to put an end to the battle between the State and the offender in the arena of punishment arose during the Eighteenth Century . During that century , petitions existed against torture and violence as a form of punishment . People already found the public execution as repulsive . The use of violence and torture for punishment of offenders was already seen and characterized as an abuse of power by the State . At that time , one is punished not due the wrongness of the act committed , but because such an action was considered as an insult or sign of disrespect to the Prince . Hence , it was necessary to vindicate the Prince and impose punishment upon the offender

It was considered during the Eighteenth Century that to physically torture the offender for the crime violated is no longer a legitimate exercise of the power vested upon the sovereign . The view was taken that the object for confronting the criminal must be punishment and not revenge for the Prince or the State . Most importantly , it was during this Century that respect for the dignity and humanity of the criminal was recognized . The reformers never insinuated the abolition of punishment . They simply wanted a better , not necessarily a less harsh way of punishing the offender

Although it may appear that during this time period , there was focus on how to lessen the gravity of punishment . It is also important to note that not only were torture on the body lessened . Rather , the target of punishment is no longer the body of the criminal . The punishment is slowly directed to the mind , not only of the person who violated the law , but also to the other members of the community . It was viewed that punishment should not only affect the offender , but also all the inhabitants of the State in for them to refrain from acts which are improper . It is through this...