To start with, the word Panopticism is not a word than can be defined but is a social theory explaining the functionality of our society and community, developed and recognized by the famous philosopher and author Michel Foucault. This theory explains and looks into how our society reacts to control, discipline, surveillance and power. The theory Panopticism is based and derived from Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon, a design of an institutional building that has a main tower in the middle for constant
theme. Michel Foucault's theory of "panopticism" is synonymous with Virilio's stance on snooping. Panopticism is an exercise of complete power in the name of discipline. The inmates of the peripheral cells are always being watched and observed by the “guard” in the central tower. This surveillance mechanism is uni-directional. The “guard” is invisible to the inmates but the reverse is not true: the inmates are always visible. Even their tiniest movements are recorded. Quoting from Foucault’s Discipline
image of how Panopticism dehumanizes others to follow the system unquestionably. The power within Candyland can be seen when the master, Calvin Candy, groomed Stephen to be an extension of himself. Foucault notes that “the Panopticon is a marvelous machine which, whatever use one may wish to put it to, produces homogeneous effects of power,” (Foucault 233). The Panopticon, an architectural penitentiary building designed by Jeremy Bentham, has developed into the representation of Foucault’s theory. At
the idea that all citizens are free and permitted to make certain demands on the state. However, he argues that these individuals cannot be understood without the mechanisms that also control and examine the citizen. Overall, while I felt that Foucault’s points fit well together, and he went into detail explaining his ideas, the article was difficult to read and consumed much more time than I had anticipated. I like the examples he used, and the level of detail he implemented. The first part of
Kathryn Schulz’s writes in a very uncommon and unique way in her book Being Wrong. In the section of her book called “Evidence” she focuses on how people make assumptions based off of evidence provided to them. She uses a different style of writing that makes it easier for her readers to connect to the author, by using words like “I,” “we” and “you” it makes it feel like she is talking directly to her readers and is including herself in the statements. She also does a great job of being playful with