In praise of counter-conduct

Abstract

Without access to Michel Foucault's courses, it was extremely difficult to understand his reorientation from an analysis of the strategies and tactics of power immanent in the modern discourse on sexuality (1976) to an analysis of the ancient forms and modalities of relation to oneself by which one constituted oneself as a moral subject of sexual conduct (1984). In short, Foucault's passage from the political to the ethical dimension of sexuality seemed sudden and inexplicable. Moreover, it was clear from his published essays and interviews that this displacement of focus had consequences far beyond the specific domain of the history of sexuality. "Security, Territory, Population" (Foucault, 2007) contains a conceptual hinge, a key concept, that allows us to link together the political and ethical axes of Foucault's thought. Indeed, it is Foucault's analysis of the notions of conduct and counter-conduct in his lecture of 1 March 1978 that seems to me to constitute one of the richest and most brilliant moments in the entire course. Is is astonishing, and of profound significance, that the autonomous sphere of conduct has been more or less invisible in the history of modern (as opposed to ancient) moral and political philosophy. This article argues that a new attention should be given to this notion, both in Foucault's work and more generally.

Heroic struggles, criminals and scientific breakthroughs: ADHD and the medicalization of child behaviour in Australian newsprint media 1999–2009

“…To theorize the connections between metaphor and power or ideology, we turn to Davidson’s (2011) observation of the interplay between frameworks of intelligibility and the creation of objects of scientific observation. Drawing on Foucault (2008) Davidson (2011) argues:

When a regime of scientific veridiction provides the framework of intelligibility for conduct, this concept completely changes register, losing its ethical and political dimensions and becoming the object of scientific explanation.

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“…Drawing on Foucault (2008) Davidson (2011) argues:When a regime of scientific veridiction provides the framework of intelligibility for conduct, this concept completely changes register, losing its ethical and political dimensions and becoming the object of scientific explanation. (p. 36)…”

Critical language teaching in a dynamic language policy terrain: lessons from the Brazilian Science without Borders student mobility programme

“…I then describe the ways in which four teachers in this university's language and academic preparation programme perceived and reacted to these policies. I conclude with a discussion of the implications that this case presents for teachers in similar situations who endeavour to take a critical approach to their language teaching, and suggest some of the ways they might be able to engage in what Foucault refers to as counter-practice/counter-conduct (DAVIDSON, 2011;FOUCAULT, 2009), or tactics of resistance against those aspects of the policy assemblage which they see as incompatible with their own approaches to language teaching (HAQUE, 2007), while also reflecting on the significant constraints they face.…”

‘The will to not be empowered (according to your rules)’: Resistance in Finnish participatory social policy

“…In this article, I employ the notion of parrhesia (parrêsia) as my analytical device to probe the interconnectedness of governing and resistance, assembled in ways of speaking 'truth to power' (Foucault, 2008;also Dyrberg, 2016;Davidson, 2011).…”