Freedom as critique

Foucault beyond anarchism

Bibliographic Data

ID5842944
AuthorsKlaus Schubert (0000-0002-6322-3370, University of Freiburg, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume47
Issue5
Pages634-660
Publication date2020-05-07
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhilosophy & Social Criticism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0191-4537 • E-ISSN: 1461-734X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0191453720917733
OpenAlexW3022195520
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited45

Foucault's theory of power and subjectification challenges common concepts of freedom in social philosophy and expands them through the concept of 'freedom as critique': Freedom can be defined as the capability to critically reflect upon one's own subjectification, and the conditions of possibility for this critical capacity lie in political and social institutions. The article develops this concept through a critical discussion of the standard response by Foucault interpreters to the standard objection that Foucault's thinking obscures freedom. The standard response interprets Foucault's later works, especially The Subject and Power, as a solution to the problem of freedom. It is mistaken, because it conflates different concepts of freedom that are present in Foucault's work. By differentiating these concepts, this article proposes a new institutionalist approach to solve the problem of freedom that breaks with the partly anarchist underpinnings of Foucault scholarship: As freedom as critique is not given, but itself a result of subjectification, it entails a demand for 'modal robustness' and must therefore be institutionalized. This approach helps to draw out the consequences of Foucault's thinking on freedom for postfoundationalist democratic theory and the general social-philosophical discussion about freedom

Conscience · Critical theory · Democracy · Epistemology · Freedom of thought · Political philosophy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics) · Scholarship · Sociology · Subjectification · Foucault, Power, and Ethics · Law · Philosophy · Political Theology and Sovereignty · Political Theory and Influence

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