Power-knowledge

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Power-knowledge is a concept coined by the French philosopher

Michel Foucault.

Definition of power-knowledge
Power is based on knowledge and makes use of knowledge; on the
other hand, power reproduces knowledge by shaping it in accordance
with its anonymous intentions. Power (re-) creates its own fields of
exercise through knowledge.
Foucault incorporates this inevitable mutual inherence in his
neologism power-knowledge, the most important part of which is the
hyphen that links the two aspects of the integrated concept together.
It is helpful noting that Foucault has a textual understanding of both
power and knowledge. Both power and knowledge are to be seen as
de-centralised, relativistic, ubiquitous, and unstable (dynamic)
systemic phenomena. Thus Foucault’s concept of power draws on
micro-relations without falling into reductionism because it does not
neglect, but emphasizes, the systemic (or structural) aspect of the
phenomenon.

Implications
According to this understanding, knowledge is never neutral, as it
determines force relations. The notion of power-knowledge is
therefore likely to be employed in critical, normative contexts.

History of the term

In his later works, Foucault replaced his notion of power-knowledge by
the term governmentality which points to a specific mentality of
governance.