Power Relations Exposed in Truth and Power :: Truth and Power Essays

Power Relations Exposed in Truth and Power In "Truth and Power" Michel Foucault revisits the major theoretical trends and questions of his career. He is a thinker who knows no bounds of subject or field. His ideas stretch from literature to science, from psychology to labor. He deals in a currency that is accepted everywhere: truth and power. Foucault spends much of his career tracing the threads of truth and power as they intertwine with the history of human experience. He especially loves to study asylums and prisons because they are close to an encapsulated power structure. Using techniques culled from psychology, politics, anthropology, sociology, and archaeology, Foucault presents a highly politicized analysis of the flow of power and power relations. "Truth and Power" is an excerpted version of an interview with Alesandro Fontana and Pasquale Pasquino that initially appeared as "Intervista a Miche Foucault" in Microfiseca del Poetere in 1977. The interviewers first ask Foucault to revisit some of his earlier ideas and trace the path of his career. Foucault began looking at asylums, and tried to create his theories with an eye toward French politics of the Left. He soon turned to evaluating other sciences such as biology, political economy, and medicine, and came up with the concept of discontinuity: "It seemed to me that ... the rhythm of transformation doesn't follow the smooth, continuist schemas of development which are normally accepted." The idea of discontinuity became a tag which other critics and thinkers applied to him, much to his dismay. Foucault wanted only to show the susceptibility of the sciences and scientific statements to the pressures of power: At this level it's not so much a matter of knowing what external power imposes itself on science, as of what effects of power circulate among scientific statements, what constitutes, as it were, their internal regime of power, and how and why at certain moments that regime undergoes a global modification. This idea echoes Thomas Kuhn's ideas about paradigm shifts in a science, and even reverberates back to Dryden's statements about every age's "universal genius." Dryden stated that in every generation there is a general inclination of thought that affects all disciplines. Kuhn proliferated the idea that major revolutions in science are due to major paradigm shifts. The discussion then moves to structuralism, where Foucault makes some major statements about the structure of history. Foucault is ardent in asserting, "I don't see who could be more of an anti-structuralist than myself.

Disability is not inability

There is an assertion that everyone was created in God’s image according to the Bible. This has left many people baffled on the exact image that is a true reflection of God. In addition to this, there is the question of which gender he belongs to and this brings us to a question which is; is there a person who is 100% normal and perfect? People cannot acknowledge the fact that everyone is different. A large number is fond of looking around and stereotyping and this makes people feel discouraged. A school is an institution in which people from different backgrounds converge all with the aim of attaining Education. The diverse background present people who have different body shapes, different body sizes and all sorts of illnesses and physical disabilities. I credit the school as being a turning point of my perception of the physically challenged to an extent of indulging in campaigns that echo the cliche that goes â€Å"disability is not inability†. I was brought up in a humble background but my parents were able to provide luxuries on top of basic necessities. The neighborhood was friendly and the kids I played with seemed normal to me. At this age, my vocabulary was limited and one of the deficient vocabularies in the little I possessed was ‘disability’. Things seemed normal till I enrolled in elementary school. For the first time, I came across a pupil who hobbled around the compound since one of his legs was shorter than the other. This peculiar walking style earned him a wide range of nicknames of which he could boast of none. I vividly remember my RECALLING A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE3 close friend likening him with the ‘hyenas’ of Africa which were featured in National geographic. John was avoided like a plague since no one wanted to be associated with him. This affected him mentally and he was always withdrawn for he was always left out while other kids engaged one another in play. Later, I enrolled in high school and by then, I was able to differentiate good from evil. The school proved to be a habitat for all sorts of people who had very different and conflicting views. In the first grade, I met Mike who up to date reminds me my former elementary schoolmate John. Mike seemed to have all sorts of disabilities combined. He suffered from polio, a disease that had weakened his legs and he walked around in clutches. To crown his troubles, he was partially deaf. This implies that walking was a problem and also you had to shout for him to hear. One afternoon as he was walking down the hallway, a group of notorious boys who walked in a gang of six approached him from behind. I had a feeling that something was about to happen and true to my prediction; they shoved him out of the way and gave him a send off package of insults. For the first time, I felt like crying because of an injustice not done to me but to a physically challenged person. I did nothing out of the fear of receiving the same treatment from the terror gang. To my amazement, a girl came out of nowhere and picked mike and consoled him. I felt so ashamed since I had done nothing. This RECALLING A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE4 occurrence disturbed me so much emotionally and when we were having dinner that evening, I felt that it was the right moment to share the disturbing experience. Emotions occupied the best part of my mother to an extent of being unable to eat. It is then that she prescribed an essay which was a personal reflection of a physically challenged individual as he narrated what he underwent while he was in high school. The individual was subjected to humiliation and he remembers a time he was accused of ruining the graduation ceremony by his friends since he could not climb the five stairs. He was also burdened with group work assignments for his friends argued that he had more free time since he did not play. Laurie Stephens has overridden all the prejudices and boasts to be one of the worlds greatest skiers in the world (Dorff, 12). The article was more than captivating to me based on how he delivers the words creating a feeling of empathy. This made me realize that I had to make a difference in the society no matter how small it would be. Working with special needs kids is not something everybody wants to experience. Having the strength, drive and patience is what one needs to be able to work with special needs people. All through high school, the special needs students had their own classrooms’ and were not viewed as part of the school. I realized that though I could not be able to offer authoritative assistance and order them to be integrated with other students, I could convince my classmates to associate with the physically challenged and RECALLING A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE5 even visiting their classes. This creates a sense of belonging. However, not all the affected viewed this as a good decision since some viewed that they were being undermined and not being complete human beings. Through exposure to a wide variety of readings focusing on the physically challenged, I am equipped with the knowledge that while others will recognize the efforts, some will just dismiss it on the grounds that one has malicious intentions behind the support. I have enrolled in a part time course which is the sociology of disability. This has enabled me to have a better perception of people with disabilities. This has broadened my mind in the sense that I am able to extend and transform what I learn in books to real life experiences. I have developed an affection towards people who have physical challenges. No one decides how to be born and also a normal person can become physically challenged due to an accident. An example can be derived from the large number of people who were rendered physically challenged as a result of post effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs. Statistics has it that over 70,000 people died as a result of thermoradiation. However, the disturbing news is that people continue to suffer up to date as a result of the chemical reactions. Many people in these countries are born with malformations (Lindee, 84). The best I can do for such people is to sensitize the community to accept them the way they are and make them feel as fellow human beings. My life has been a journey from ignorance to a full combatant of the physically challenged rights. RECALLING A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE6 I have joined numerous welfare organizations that seek to recognize the less privileged in the society. I am at the forefront in the battle of empowering the disabled in the society. This has transformed me from someone who just understands disability to someone who has experienced disability.

Code of Ethics in Workplace Free Essay Example, 1250 words

Code of ethics is very vital for a group. There are a number of reasons as to why code of ethics might be needed in a teamwork setting. One of the reasons is to curb the reluctance of contribution by some of the team members. A code of ethic has some basic characteristics. One of the common characteristics is that a code of ethics usually gives a description of how a team plans on achieving their goals. Code of ethics also gives team members a description of those things that they are allowed to do and those that they are not allowed to do. Therefore, it can be said that a code of ethics plays the role of guiding team members on the best way through which they can collectively reach their goals. The code of ethics is also important in making sure that members of a team appreciate their differences. Not every person in a team should have the same opinion. All they need to do is make sure that everyone is accorded a chance to air their opinion then the opinions should be rationally de liberated upon. It is of no doubt that a code of ethics is of high importance to a team. We will write a custom essay sample on Code of Ethics in Workplace or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The first reason as to why a code of ethics is important to a team is the fact that it prevents unjust treatments. This is because there is likely to be much inequality in a team if there are no ethical standards that are put in place to prevent the same. A code of ethics can also be of importance in making sure that every member’s interests are served and not just a few members’ interests (Howard & Korver, 2008). A code of conduct can also hold every member responsible for their action by making sure that incorrectbehaviours are not allowed. Some members might not be able to point out the wrong doing of others lest it is considered a personal attack. However, with a code of ethics there is a very high possibility that such corrections would not be taken personally because the code of ethics will be used as a reference. With a code of ethics team members are able to have better working relations because the ethics will make sure that e veryone makes their contribution limiting the need for any form of complaints. A code of ethics can act as a standard setter. With such standards team members will always know the standards that re expected of them and will always strive to work in accordance to the standards that are put in place by the code of ethics. The perception on importance of a code of ethics in a teamwork setting was highly influenced by the process of creating the code of ethics for our team.