The Best Doctor for My Soul
How the Parrhesiastic Relationship Between Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia and René Descartes Belies Descartes’s Dualism and Foucault’s Neoliberalism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3774995 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas F Tierney (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The College of Wooster, 1189 Beall Ave., Wooster, OH 44691-2363, USA) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 94-111 |
| Publication date | 2018-09-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Angelaki (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0969-725X • E-ISSN: 1469-2899 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0969725x.2018.1513203 |
| OpenAlex | W2892074528 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 31 |
This article contributes to the revaluation of the much-maligned figure of René Descartes, by interpreting his relationship with Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia through Michel Foucault’s late work on the “care of the self” and parrēsia. In addition to challenging Descartes’s reputation for endorsing a rigid mind–body dualism, the essay also challenges those who interpret Foucault’s work on ancient techniques of the self as supportive of neoliberalism. On the contrary, this essay argues that Foucault’s turn to ancient sources was offered as a critique of neoliberalism, and uses the mutually beneficial relationship between Descartes and Elisabeth as a counter-example to neoliberalism’s individualistic, entrepreneurial conception of the self. The essay concludes with a brief examination of Elisabeth’s exercise of power in a manner that both Descartes and Foucault could endorse, and which can serve as a challenge to the xenophobic, nationalistic leadership that has arisen of late
Dualism · Epistemology · Individualism · Michel foucault · Mind–body problem · Neoliberalism (international relations · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Psychoanalysis · Reputation · Social science · Sociology · Soul · Will to power · Feminism, Gender, and Sexuality Studies · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Psychology · Law · Philosophy
Histoire de la sexualité, Tome I
The Man of Reason
Course Context
The Philosophical Writings of Descartes
Foucault's Askesis
Cartesian Women
The Order of Things
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault’s ‘apology’ for neoliberalism
From ‘Entrepreneur of the Self’ to ‘Care of the Self’
Liberalism Without Humanism
The third culture
The Three Princesses
Michel Foucault and liberal intelligence
Foucault and neo-liberalism
Neoliberalism, Governmentality, and Ethics
Security, Territory, Population
The Ethic of Care for the Self as a Practice of Freedom
Accidents Happen
The Hermeneutics of the Subject
The Government of Self and Others
The Cartesian Masculinization of Thought
Punctual selves, punctual death and the health-conscious cogito
The birth of bio-politics
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |