Analysis On Foucault’s Subject Theory Through Power-Knowledge

Research on subject should be closely linked with people. In the modern philosophy it is considered as the abstract of human nature. In most cases, almost all subjects are interchangeable with the use of the person, even in philosophy. Research on subject, therefore, will inevitably involve the issue of person from the perspective of both cognition and practice. Reflection on the subject, of course, is fundamental reflection of not only the modern subject philosophy but also the contemporary Practice and ethics. By Michel Foucault, the negation of subject is developed to the extreme—a general denial of subject. Compared with other opponents of subject in history, his idea about subject is quite characteristic and of profound theoretical meaning. The dissertation is focused on Foucault’s theory of the subject with research and analysis from the perspective of knowledge and power. Chapter Ⅰ discusses Foucault’s criticism of traditional thought and concept of subject philosophy. The mainstream of modern western philosophy is the subject philosophy, which is also the core and foundation of western culture and has a strong influence on the study of philosophy. Foucault’s philosophy is different from that of most people, where he excluded the subject reasoningly but focused on borderline culture such as prison, madness, medicine and the history of sex, criticized and rethought the philosophical thinking ignored in traditional western philosophy, discussed his own views and opinions about the subject, deconstructed Descartes and Kant’s philosophy, and explained the connotation of people’s death. Chapter Ⅱ is focus on Foucault’s theory of knowledge-subject. In the definition of knowledge, the Archaeology of Knowledge says:"made up of some speech acts according to its unique rules, which considered as indispensable important component in establishment of a science, even though they don’t have produced science, they can also be called as knowledge." Foucault denied the traditional concept that subject creates knowledge but holds the view that knowledge creates subject and researched and summarized theory of subject from the perspective of "knowledge". Chapter Ⅲ discusses Foucault’s theory of power-subject. As modern western postmodernism philosopher, Foucault focus on research of power, which is the stress of his thinking. Foucault related his own view of power with theory of subject, constructed a theory of power-subject by analysis and research on power, sought a kind of non-economic explanation, and decentralized and diversified power in view of micro-power theory. Chapter IV evaluates Foucault’s theory of subject from the perspective of theoretical and practical significance and analyzes its limitations to provide reference to study of Foucault’s theory of subject.