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In Defence of Foucaults Genealogy

The aim of this essay is to defend Foucaults practice of genealogy against a specific criticism made against it by Jrgen Habermas. As such it only details the specific elements of Foucaults genealogy that are called into question by Habermas. The method of genealogy has been used by Foucault for many investigations into social institutions, from the development of the penal system (Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison) to the evolution of the medical profession (The Birth of the Clinic). Heavily influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche, Foucault developed the ideas generated from On the Genealogy of Morals by applying them to specific historical content (Rudi Visker, 1994: 118). This change of approach allowed him to perceive power as a productive force throughout history, for he argues that power ...produces reality, domains of objects and rituals of truth (Foucault, 1973: 194). This divergence from Nietzsche formed the basis for much of Foucaults writings, however for some it still contained the inherent contradictions of Nietzsches work. Foucaults concept of genealogy situates him seemingly between two positions, that of philosopher and historian, for his investigations are formed of historical analysis of the discourses leading to contemporary practices. However, whether Foucault fulfils either role is a topic that has been debated for some time. His form of genealogy disregards the historians normal goal of searching for and revealing origins. Instead, Foucaults genealogy seeks to undermine the authority usually ascribed to origins by historians, for he argues that his historical research is non teleological and thus takes on a much more fractured quality. He proposes that, what is found at the historical beginning of things is 1

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not the inviolable identity of their origin; it is the dissension of other things (Foucault, 1977: 153). For Foucault the origin is not some source of transcendental truth, instead truth is generated through the relationship of singular events. On the other hand the deconstructive nature of investigating historical discourse implies a level of doubt on all truths and as Foucault offers no alternative epistemological theory his method of genealogy can be seen as being anti-foundational, which, as T. Carlos Jacques states, insofar as foundationalism can be identified as intrinsic to philosophy, genealogy is also anti-philosophical(1994: 99). This uncategorisable trait has lead Foucault to gain many critics, but also offers him a unique and revealing position within epistemological discourse.

It is through occupying this space between philosophy and history that Foucault is able to look beyond the present notions of truth and instead turn his attention to their histories, a deeply involved process which he describes as ...more effective in unsettling our certitudes and dogmatism than is abstract criticism(Foucault, 1980: 83). By examining past events and past contingencies throughout history Foucault reveals the discourses and power struggles that generate truth. This is embodied most clearly within The Birth of the Clinic, his analysis of the changes within modern clinical medicine, where Foucault notes the increasing normalisation of procedures coupled with the similar increase in the production and dispersal of knowledge within the field. As Mary Rawlinson states, this intertwining of knowledge and power, ...defines the critical disciplines of the modern period, those sciences that set norms and standards, make measurements and diagnoses, impose regulations on the basis of statistical generalisations or projections, and establish mechanisms for dividing 2

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the normal and abnormal, the self-realized and the unfulfilled, in the domain of the human being (1995: 302). The control of knowledge, in this case the limits of what we define as medically normal, had become the authority of hierarchical systems of power. However such production of the truth is not homogenous, many forms of power contend different strands of truth, which amalgamate to form the truth that exists in the present. Foucault rejects that any universal truth can exist and that instead all truths are fabricated through this discourse, in doing so he opens up a new position; instead of investigating how the human subject relates to objects of the past, Foucault instead examines the area where the subject is embedded, the framework of discourse within which one operates. The transcendental human subject is therefore not just ignored in his analysis but has to be removed, as Foucault states, One has to dispense with the constituent subject, to get rid of the subject itself, thats to say to arrive at an analysis which can account for the constitution of the subject within a historical framework. And this is what I would call genealogy, that is, a form of history which can account for the constitution of knowledge, discourses, domains of objects, etc., without having to make reference to a subject which is either transcendental in relation to the field of events or runs in its empty sameness throughout the course of history (1980: 59).

This break from tradition has, naturally, led to much criticism from many sides, in particular from Habermas, for whom genealogy fails due to its inherent inconsistencies. Throughout their prolonged debate over methods power critique, Habermas refused to accept the validity of genealogy on the basis that ...the critique cannot be both radical and at the same time exempt from its own standards of criticism (Habermas, 1986: 171). As Foucault rejects that any 3

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formation of truth can lie outside of a discursive framework, is his analysis not also a product of the power relations he is trying to critique, and therefore is his argument not fundamentally tautological? As he, himself, states, there is absolutely nothing primary to interpret, because at the bottom everything is already interpretation (1990a: 275). Does Foucaults theory therefore become nihilistic?

To better understand Habermas criticism we must first look at his difference in approach to Foucault. Habermas form of investigation takes a much more universal approach to epistemological discourse, centred around his theory of language, whereby language is imbued with the quality of transsubjective validity..., that allows it to have the ...same meaning for observers and nonparticipants as it has for the acting subject himself. (Habermas, 1984: 9). Habermas truth therefore lies not in the realm of discourse, but rather in a privileged domain separate from power conflicts, allowing meaning to be universal. These truths are found by using a dialectic that takes the historical traces of suppressed dialogue and reconstructs what has been suppressed. (Habermas, 1972: 315). This directly opposes Foucaults approach, which denies universal truths and as Jonathan Arac states, Foucault ...shows the process of suppression, but he does not speak for the suppressed (1994: 132). However, when addressing Habermas criticism, the most crucial difference between the pair is that of specificity. For once the precision and particularity of Foucaults analysis are taken into account, Habermas argument of internal contradictions begins to lose its validity.

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The genealogy which Foucault adopts concerns itself with the piecemeal definition of truth developed through many specific discursive power conflicts, as he states, these ensembles dont exist in a homogenisation, but rather in a complex play of supports in mutual engagement, different mechanisms of power (1980: 159). Foucault compares the differences between each rival power and the truth they portray and also reveals how they assimilate with certain threads taking more dominant roles. His genealogy is therefore a descriptive process, detailing the relationship of the mechanisms of power that form the truth. We are presented with no theory of universal power, as for him no such thing can exist, instead he offers us insights into specific discursive moments of power. Foucaults aim is not to develop a theory of universal power and truth, for such a task would be contradictory, as he states this need for theory is still part of the system we reject. (1977: 231). Foucault does not attempt, as Habermas suggests, a critique of power and truth, instead he describes the process of specific truth development, and , in Foucauldian terms, it is instead Habermas theory that cannot escape the power it is describing.

If Foucaults analysis escapes internal contradictions through being descriptive, can it still have the potential for being critical? Despite not being able to critically position himself outside of the discursive framework, he is able to use the descriptive quality of genealogy to investigate the different mechanisms of power that come together. It is therefore possible to stand outside of the dominant power, by taking the position of an alternative strand of power or by inverting a power against itself. In doing so he opens up the internal critical potential of what he describes as the event, the ability to use the mechanisms of power against themselves. In History of Sexuality Volume I Foucault gives an 5

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example of such an inversion event, describing the appearance in the nineteenth century in psychiatry, jurisprudence, literature also, of a whole series of discourses on species and subspecies of homosexuality, inversion, pedastry, phychic hermaphroditism, certainly allowed a great advance in social control in that region of perversity. But it also permitted the constitution of a discourse in return: homosexuality began to talk of itself, to defend its legitimacy and naturality often in the vocabulary, in the categories, that had medically disqualified it.( 1984: 101). By studying the heterogeneity of supposed truths, Foucault is able to form internal critical arguments from the discourse of power without relying on a universal position outside of the discursive framework.

Habermas argument that ...the critique cannot be both radical and at the same time exempt from its own standards of critism(1986: 171), can therefore be seen to fail. Firstly, as Foucault has stated previously, he is not forming, as Habermas accuses, a critique of universal truth and power, instead he forms specific descriptions of power relations. He also offers no critical alternatives to the power systems and politics he unveils. He understands that no alternative can be proposed, as such a task would require a normative standpoint outside of the current discursive framework. Therefore such a proposal would be drawn from the current power system one is inhabiting, as Foucault suggests, to imagine another system is to extend our participation in the present system (1977: 230). Foucaults method is also exempt from Habermas self-undermining claim, as his criticality is instead formed on an internal and very specific level, for he understands that a critique of universal power would, as Habermas suggests, undermine its own authority. Alternatively he uses the different strands of power unearthed from his investigations to critique each other, 6

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therefore not having to step outside of the discursive framework and threaten his own argument. Foucaults genealogy then, can be critical without undermining its own form of criticism, due to the specificity of its arguments.

Bibliography

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Arac, Jonathan. The Function of Foucault at the Present Time, in, Michel Foucault: Critical Assessments (Volume I), Ed. Barry Smart. Great Britain, Routledge, 1994. Benjamin, Walter. Theses on the Philosophy of History, in, Illuminations. Great Britain, Pimlico, 1999. Deleuze, Gilles. A New Archivist (The Archaeology of Knowledge), in, Michel Foucault: Critical Assessments (Volume I), Ed. Barry Smart. Great Britain, Routledge, 1995. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. U.S.A, Vantage, 1973. Foucault, Michel. History of Sexuality: Volume I: An Introduction. U.S.A, Random House, 1978. Foucault, Michel. Language, Counter-Memory, Practice: Selected Essays and Interviews, Ed. Donald F. Bouchard. U.S.A, Cornell, 1977. Foucault, Michel. Nietzsche, Freud, Marx: Transforming the Hermeneutic Context: From Nietzsche to Nancy, Ed. Gayle L. Ormiston and Alan D. Schrift. U.S.A, State University of New York Press, 1990(a). Foucault, Michel. Politics, Philosophy, Culture: Interviews and Other Writings, 1977-1984. U.S.A, Routledge, 1990(b). Foucault, Michel. Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-1977. U.S.A, Pantheon, 1980. Foucault, Michel. The Archaeology of Knowledge. Great Britain, Routledge, 2010. Habermas, Jrgen. Bemerkungen zur Entwicklungsgeschichte des Horkheimershen Werks, in, Max Horkheimer heute: Werk und Wirkung, Ed. A. Schmidt & N. Altwicker. Germany, Fischer, 1986. Habermas, Jrgen. Knowledge and Human Interests. U.S.A, Beacon Press, 1972. Habermas, Jrgen. The Theory of Communicative Action, vol. I: Reason and the Rationalization of Society. U.S.A, Beacon Press, 1984. Hacking, Ian. The Archaeology of Foucault, in, Michel Foucault: Critical Assessments (Volume V), Ed. Barry Smart. Great Britain, Routledge, 1995. Jacques, T. Carlos. Whence does the Critic Speak? A Study of Foucaults Genealogy, in, Michel Foucault: Critical Assessments (Volume III), Ed. Barry Smart. Great Britain, Routledge, 1994. Kermode, Frank. Crisis Critic: Review of The Archaeology of Knowledge and the Discourse on Language by Michel Foucault, translated by A.M. Sheridan Smith, in, Michel Foucault: Critical Assessments (Volume II), Ed. Barry Smart. Great Britain, Routledge, 1995. 8

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