Original scientific paper
Michel Foucault and the Ontology of Politics: E Pluribus Unum?
Krešimir Petković
orcid.org/0000-0003-3319-1838
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The problem of ontology in the work of Michel Foucault is discussed. First,
ontology is defined as the layer of a social theory, encompassing the essential
building blocks of the social world presupposed by that social theory. Second,
three different ontologies in Foucault’s work are identified, which roughly
correspond to the chronological phases of his theorizing: the ontology of discourse
(1960s), the ontology of power (1970s), and the ontology of the self
(1980s). While it is not easy to bring these different ontologies together, an
attempt at ontological synthesis is made via the concepts of productivity of
power and governmentality. A single “un-ontology” of aleatory power-politics
is constructed as a result of that theoretical operation. Finally, some basic
guidelines for political theorizing and research are drawn from that ontological
world picture attributed to Foucault’s theory.
Keywords
Foucault; ontology; discourse; power; self; governmentality; political theory; political science; aleatory; politics; genealogy
Hrčak ID:
64151
URI
Publication date:
16.1.2011.
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