Discipline and Punish Michel Foucault

In Discipline and Punish, one of the most influential philosophers alive sweeps aside centuries of sterile debate about prison reform and gives a highly provocative account of how penal institutions and the power to punish became a part of our lives.

Testimonials

“Must be reckoned with by humanists, social scientists and political activists”

The New York Times Book Review

“Many social scientists have looked with care and skill at the ways public institutions work; I know of none who has accomplished Foucault’s extraordinary analyses of how they developed!”

Bruce Jackson, The Nation

“His genius is called forth into the eloquent clarity of his passions… in his latest and best book!”

Richard Poirier, Washington Post Book World

“Imaginative, illuminating… and bound to be innovative!”

-Front page. New York Times Book Review

“Fascinating”.

Cliffond Geertz, The New York Review of Books

On 2 March 1757 Damiens the regicide was condemned ‘to make the amende honorable before the main door of the Church of Paris’, where he was to be ‘taken and conveyed in a cart, wearing nothing but a shirt, holding a torch of burning wax weighing two pounds’; then, ‘in the said cart, to the Place de Greve, where, on a scaffold that will be erected there, the flesh will be torn from his breasts, arms, thighs and calves with red-hot pincers, his right hand, holding the knife with which he committed the said parricide, burnt with sulphur, and, on those places where the flesh will be torn away, poured molten lead, boiling oil, burning resin, wax and sulphur melted together and then his body drawn and quartered by four horses and his limbs and body consumed by fire, reduced to ashes and his ashes thrown to the winds’ (Pieces originates . . ., 372-4).

‘Finally, he was quartered,’ recounts the Gazette d’Amsterdam of 1 April 1757. ‘This last operation was very long, because the horses used were not accustomed to drawing; consequently, instead of four, six were needed; and when that did not suffice, they were forced, in order to cut off the wretch’s thighs, to sever the sinews and hack at the joints...

‘It is said that, though he was always a great swearer, no blas¬ phemy escaped his lips; but the excessive pain made him utter horrible cries, and he often repeated: “My God, have pity on me! Jesus, help me!” The spectators were all edified by the solicitude of the parish priest of St Paul’s who despite his great age did not spare himself in offering consolation to the patient.’

Bouton, an officer of the watch, left us his account: ‘The sulphur was lit, but the flame was so poor that only the top skin of the hand was burnt, and that only slightly. Then the executioner, his sleeves rolled up, took the steel pincers, which had been especially made for the occasion, and which were about a foot and a half long, and pulled first at the calf of the right leg, then at the thigh, and from there at the two fleshy parts of the right arm; then at the breasts.

Michel Foucault (1926–1984) was a French philosopher, historian, and social theorist, known for his critical studies of power, knowledge, and society. His work explored how institutions, norms, and discourses shape individuals and societal structures. Foucault’s seminal concepts include "biopower," "governmentality," and "disciplinary power," which address the pervasive and subtle mechanisms through which power operates in modern life.

His major works, such as Madness and Civilization, The Birth of the Clinic, and Discipline and Punish, investigate the historical development of institutions like psychiatry, medicine, and the prison system, emphasizing how they exert control over individuals. Foucault also examined the relationship between knowledge and power, arguing that what is considered "truth" is shaped by social and historical contexts.

His methodologies, notably "archaeology" and "genealogy," have deeply influenced various fields, including sociology, political science, and cultural studies, leaving a lasting impact on contemporary thought.