Power and reason, justice and domination: a conversation
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between power and reason, justice and domination, is explored through an email conversation between Allen, Forst and Haugaard, and it is argued that reasoning is intrinsic to political power, with both the potential for power as justice (Arendt), and power as domination (Foucault and Lukes).
Abstract: Through an email conversation between Allen, Forst and Haugaard, this article explores the relationship between the dyads power and reason, justice and domination. In much of the literature reason is considered either a mode of emancipation from power (Lukes) or, conversely, a subtle ruse of domination (Foucault). Here it is argued that reasoning is intrinsic to political power, with both the potential for power as justice (Arendt), and for power as domination (Foucault and Lukes). With power and reason as normatively neutral, with both/either normatively desirable and undesirable potentials, this raises the fundamental question of how to distinguish between justice and domination. These issues are explored, taking account of processes of subject formation and systems of thought.
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318 citations
TL;DR: Heyes et al. as mentioned in this paper have become increasingly concerned with the role of normality in women's lives, and with the importance of women's bodies in the normalisation of women.
Abstract: By Cressida Heyes Oxford University Press, 2007. Pp. vii + 162. ISBN 978–0–19–531054–2. $29.95 (pbk). In recent years, feminist theorists have become increasingly concerned with the role of normali...
149 citations
116 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the power dynamics, mechanisms and impacts within co-production and co-design processes are explored, and two case studies were evaluated using qualitative longitudinal methods: an experience-based codesign project within hospital-based breast cancer services was followed from initiation to completion, alongside a local government innovation team that used co-productions and design techniques to enable person-centred policies and services.
Abstract: Co-production and co-design practices are increasingly being promoted to develop user-centred public services. Analysing these practices with literature on power, participation and realist social theory this article explores the power dynamics, mechanisms and impacts within co-production and co-design processes. Two case studies were evaluated using qualitative longitudinal methods: an experience-based co-design project within hospital-based breast cancer services was followed from initiation to completion, alongside a local government innovation team that used co-production and co-design techniques to enable person-centred policies and services. The two cases illustrate how co-production and co-design techniques involve facilitating, managing and co-ordinating a complex set of psychological, social, cultural and institutional interactions. Whilst existing power relations can be challenged in different ways, constant critical reflective practice and dialogue is essential to facilitate more equal relationa...
97 citations
Cites background from "Power and reason, justice and domin..."
...These external effects of interaction can be associated with power with (Allen et al., 2014); the collective power that can emerge through the human ability to act together....
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...Social interactions, the people involved and the structures within which participatory processes are set all influence power relations and whether co-production may empower participants, or, conversely, embed existing power inequalities (Bates, 2010; Haugaard, 2012; Allen et al., 2014)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine Rainer Forst's account of "noumenal power" and assess its usefulness for overcoming the shortcomings of alternative explanatory frameworks, arguing that, although it succeeds in avoiding the drawbacks of rival approaches, it suffers from significant limitations.
Abstract: The main purpose of this paper is to examine Rainer Forst’s account of ‘noumenal power’. Forst’s proposal for a revised ‘critical theory of power’ is firmly embedded in his philosophical understanding of ‘the right to justification’. Whereas the latter has been extensively discussed in the secondary literature, the former has – with the exception of various exchanges that have taken place between Forst and his critics at academic conferences – received little attention. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap in the literature. Given the increasing influence of Forst’s scholarly writings on paradigmatic developments in contemporary critical theory, it is imperative to scrutinize the key assumptions underlying his conception of ‘noumenal power’ and to assess its usefulness for overcoming the shortcomings of alternative explanatory frameworks. In order to accomplish this, the analysis is divided into four parts. The first part provides some introductory definitional reflections on the concept of power. The second part focuses on several dichotomous meanings attached to the concept of power – notably, ‘soft power’ vs. ‘hard power’, ‘power to’ vs. ‘power over’, and ‘power for’ vs. ‘power against’. The third part elucidates the principal features of Forst’s interpretation of ‘noumenal power’, in addition to drawing attention to his typological distinction between ‘power’, ‘rule’, ‘domination’, and ‘violence’. The final part offers an assessment of Forst’s account of ‘noumenal power’, arguing that, although it succeeds in avoiding the drawbacks of rival approaches, it suffers from significant limitations. The paper concludes by giving a synopsis of the vital insights that can be obtained from the preceding inquiry.
42 citations
Additional excerpts
...See also, for example: Allen et al. (2014) and Forst (2015b, esp. p. 117)....
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References
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01 Jan 1980
TL;DR: Bourdieu as mentioned in this paper develops a theory of practice which is simultaneously a critique of the methods and postures of social science and a general account of how human action should be understood.
Abstract: Outline of a Theory of Practice is recognized as a major theoretical text on the foundations of anthropology and sociology. Pierre Bourdieu, a distinguished French anthropologist, develops a theory of practice which is simultaneously a critique of the methods and postures of social science and a general account of how human action should be understood. With his central concept of the habitus, the principle which negotiates between objective structures and practices, Bourdieu is able to transcend the dichotomies which have shaped theoretical thinking about the social world. The author draws on his fieldwork in Kabylia (Algeria) to illustrate his theoretical propositions. With detailed study of matrimonial strategies and the role of rite and myth, he analyses the dialectical process of the 'incorporation of structures' and the objectification of habitus, whereby social formations tend to reproduce themselves. A rigorous consistent materialist approach lays the foundations for a theory of symbolic capital and, through analysis of the different modes of domination, a theory of symbolic power.
21,227 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1980
TL;DR: The Eye of Power: A Discussion with Maoists as mentioned in this paper discusses the politics of health in the Eighteenth Century, the history of sexuality, and the Confession of the Flesh.
Abstract: * On Popular Justice: A Discussion with Maoists * Prison Talk * Body/ Power * Questions on Georgraphy * Two Lectures * Truth and Power * Power and Strategies * The Eye of Power * The Politics of Health in the Eighteenth Century * The history of Sexuality * The Confession of the Flesh
15,638 citations
"Power and reason, justice and domin..." refers background in this paper
...That power operates not only through reasons but also through shaping our embodied dispositions and affective investments explains, as Foucault says, why power ‘is so deeply rooted and the difficulty of eluding its embrace’ (Foucault 1980a, p. 59)....
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...(Foucault 1980c, p. 93)....
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...Precisely because they bypass the reasoned consent of subordinated subjects, such forms of power are even more subtle, stable and effective than power that rests on reasoned acceptance (Foucault 1980a, 1980b)....
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14,683 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1967
TL;DR: This work focuses on Ethnomethodology, which investigates the role of sex status in the lives of the Intersexed Person and some of the rules of Correct Decisions that Jurors Respect.
Abstract: 1. What is Ethnomethodology?. 2. Studies of the Routine Grounds of Everyday Activities. 3. Common Sense Knowledge of Social Structures: The Documentary Method of Interpretation in Lay and Professional Fact Finding. 4. Some Rules of Correct Decisions that Jurors Respect. 5. Passing and the Managed Achievement of Sex Status in the Intersexed Person. 6. "Good Organizational Reasons for a Bada Clinic Records". 7. Methodological Adequacy in the Quantitative Study of Selection Criteria and Selection Practices in Psychiatric Outpatient Clinics. 8. The Rational Properties of Scientific and Common Sense Activities. Appendix.
11,533 citations
Additional excerpts
...…an intrinsic incentive to try to convert coercion into power which is recognized and accepted by actors B. Breaching experiments of the kind done by Garfinkel (1984) and Milgram (2010), where students were asked to interpret everyday requests in unusual ways (Garfinkel), or to request a seat in…...
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