File spoon-archives/foucault.archive/foucault_1996/f_Jan19.96, message 23


Date: Sun, 21 Jan 1996 10:58:00 +1100
From: bpalmer-AT-pcug.org.au (Bryan Palmer)
Subject: Re: ETHICS AND POST STRUCT.


>Greg Coolidge: University of Calif., Riverside,  gcoolidg-AT-wizard.ucr.edu

<snip> 

>My claim is that Foucualt and other post-
>structuralits are humanists of a sort, no matter how vehemently they deny
>such a charge. 

This was the conclusion I was coming too.  

>You only need look at their political projects with care,
>in order to locate the humanist core of their polical aspirations.

D&P is about prison reform; 
TBoTC is about reforming medical practice; 
and so on...

>They offer
> humananisms devoid of humanity, where the subject theorized to populate the
>social body is incapable of becoming the autonomous, self-determing being
that the humanist inspired political project so obviously seeks.  We posties
are 
>truly deeply flawed and paradoxical humanists.  I'm not claiming originality
>here.

I'd be interested in your source referneces.

> I am only suggesting that we post-structuralists quit fooling
>ourselves into believing that we are radically ant-liberal and anti-
>humanist.  We are no such thing.  We reject much of liberalism, and much of 
>the various humanisms that can be found, but we share many of the core values
>belonging to both.  We need to carefully take stock of our political values,
>those we would be unwilling to give up, to embrace them, rather than contin-
>uing to parrot the stale rhetoric of anti-humanism.  We are not fooling 
>anybody.

YES!

_______________________________________________________________
Bryan Palmer
bpalmer-AT-pcug.org.au
Canberra - Australia's National Capital


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