Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 00:56:55 -0700 (PDT) From: Jivko Georgiev <jivkox43georgiev-AT-yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Foucault and pragmatism, q&a When I wrote that, I meant that Rorty is useless --- Andrew Brokos <androobrokos-AT-netscape.net> wrote: > > foucault-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu wrote: > > > > I dont know how exactly Rorty is politically > useful. > > I'm not claiming that he is. I am not overly > familiar with him, but my impression is that he is a > hack who misunderstands the philosophies with which > he attempts to deal. Because I find him useless, I > don't make a study of him and I don't join Rorty > e-mail lists. I am starting to wonder what the > "point" of studying the work of Foucault for us. Why > should we have it in our "toolbox", to revive the > jargon from a previous Rorty discussion? I've had > difficulty coming across discussions of how to > employ Foucault "on the ground". Admittedly, any > morality or politics is contingent to the theory, > but we all have our moralities and our politics, and > I am wondering how Foucault can be used to advance > them. > > > What is political?What is politically usefulness? > > The question of what is political is irrelevant. > Define it however you like, or don't define it all. > As for usefulness, I've ansewered this already. Can > I use anything taken away from a study of Foucault > and his work to change future conditions. Dewey says > that for the pragmatist, the utility of a proposal > or theory is judged by the likelihood that it will > contribute to the future conditions it seeks. > Granted, Foucault's work does not inherently suggest > any future conditions, but were one to apply them > externally to his work (for example, with a movement > to reform or abolish prisons), would that person > find that using the work of Foucault make it more > likely that his/her desired end is achieved? If so, > how? > > > The thinking precedes the acting. > > All I have ever seen anyone do with Foucault, and > this seems to be the criticism Rorty is making, is > think. Surely someone will tell me that thinking is > action. Perhaps. The question then is what > difference does thinking make? Does it bring one > closer to one's goal? Certainly, I can think about > the way disciplinary power functions in a prison. > What can I do with that knowledge. Merely thinking > differently about it has certainly done nothing to > help the prisoner (or the student, or the mental > patient, etc.) > > __________________________________________________________________ > Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Webmail account > today at http://webmail.netscape.com/ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/
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