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Power Knowledge

Foucault coined the term "power-knowledge" to describe how power and knowledge are inherently intertwined. Power shapes and reproduces knowledge to serve its own purposes, while knowledge allows power to be exercised. Both power and knowledge are decentralized, unstable, and systemic phenomena. Foucault's concept of power-knowledge emphasizes that knowledge is never neutral and always determines relationships of force.

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109 views1 page

Power Knowledge

Foucault coined the term "power-knowledge" to describe how power and knowledge are inherently intertwined. Power shapes and reproduces knowledge to serve its own purposes, while knowledge allows power to be exercised. Both power and knowledge are decentralized, unstable, and systemic phenomena. Foucault's concept of power-knowledge emphasizes that knowledge is never neutral and always determines relationships of force.

Uploaded by

anon-964791
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Power-knowledge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Power-knowledge is a concept coined by the French philosopher


Michel Foucault.

Definition of power-knowledge
Power is based on knowledge and makes use of knowledge; on the
other hand, power reproduces knowledge by shaping it in accordance
with its anonymous intentions. Power (re-) creates its own fields of
exercise through knowledge.
Foucault incorporates this inevitable mutual inherence in his
neologism power-knowledge, the most important part of which is the
hyphen that links the two aspects of the integrated concept together.
It is helpful noting that Foucault has a textual understanding of both
power and knowledge. Both power and knowledge are to be seen as
de-centralised, relativistic, ubiquitous, and unstable (dynamic)
systemic phenomena. Thus Foucault’s concept of power draws on
micro-relations without falling into reductionism because it does not
neglect, but emphasizes, the systemic (or structural) aspect of the
phenomenon.

Implications
According to this understanding, knowledge is never neutral, as it
determines force relations. The notion of power-knowledge is
therefore likely to be employed in critical, normative contexts.

History of the term


In his later works, Foucault replaced his notion of power-knowledge by
the term governmentality which points to a specific mentality of
governance.

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