[Air-l] Re: New Theoretical Approaches to the Self in

[Jeremy W. Crampton]

Tim et al.,

In my case I meant that since Foucault identifies confession as a
historically and spatially particular technique of the self (one's
relationship to oneself), which is formed as a method of coming into a more
authentic relationship with oneself in early Christianity/Middle Ages,
then...

Then could cyberspace be fruitfully seen as another (historically and
spatially particular) regime for this confessional modality to operate?

Foucault did indeed see the confession as a technique which was understood
as the production of truth about oneself:

"He was authenticated by the discourse of truth he was able or obliged to
pronounce concerning himself. The truthful confession was inscribed at the
heart of the procedures of individualization [subjectification] by power"
F., Hist. of Sex. 1, pp. 58-59.

As a consequence it came to be seen that "confession frees, but power
reduces one to silence" (p. 60). Of course it is his project to show that
this has "taken us in" and is a "ruse" and in fact power does not silence
nor confession make you free from power relations.

As for cyberspace therefore we can interpret it as confessional in both a
weak and a strong sense. The weak sense (not all that weak actually!) would
document the many amazing ways and opportunities in which one can produce
the truth about onself (blogging, chat rooms, IM, anonymized sex discourses,
actual confessions on eg., notproud.com, and so on). I think blogging in
particular should be analyzed as a modern digital regime of confession going
back to the Middle Ages.

Anyway, the stronger sense would be that anything we do in cyberspace is
towards a renunciation of the body (as eg. the Christian martyrs who
sacrificed their bodies, either to the death or through penitance) and to
overcoming the body in order to reach... what? a higher spiritual state? A
more mindful state? A more truthful state? Penitance? Cyberspace as the will
to penitance!

I think the former is certainly an easier argument to make, but remain
intrigued by the second...

thanks...


From: T.R.Jordan at open.ac.uk
To: air-l at aoir.org
Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 11:47:30 -0000
Subject: [Air-l] Re: New Theoretical Approaches to the Self in
Reply-To: air-l at aoir.org

Hi,

Can't say I agree that Foucault was talking about confessions are a place
where we recover our 'true selves', but then again I haven't looked at that
book for quite a while. I tried to analyse relations of power, using
Foucault and other theories of power/knowledge/subjectivity, and their
inter-relations in terms of generating selves, collectives and imaginaries.
(Cyberpower it's called) I can't see any space for 'true selves' outside all
these circuits of power, only places for different constructions of selves
and societies generating different types of societies and selves.

Sorry if I've mistaken your take on Foucault, re-reading your post I'm not
sure if you mean confessions produce true selves or if cyber-confessions may
be able to do so.

Tim Jordan