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Prinn Larbpaiboonpong (111588477) : PHI 112.02 - Technology and Modern Life
Prinn Larbpaiboonpong (111588477) : PHI 112.02 - Technology and Modern Life
Prinn Larbpaiboonpong (111588477) : PHI 112.02 - Technology and Modern Life
Prinn Larbpaiboonpong
(111588477)
Question #4
applied in our society., I will show how Foucault thinks that norms are dominating society over
laws which make life more than just being alive. It is more for encouraging one’s quality of life
so that one can reproduce a better next generation in the future. I will also give an example of
norms that nurture life in our society that are currently debating.
In order to make people live in a society with the least amount of chaos, rules are applied
among people. Some of them are written rules that are enforced strictly. Breaking those rules
comes with a penalty; this could be going to jail, paying fines, or even death. These rules are
laws and everyone in society is expected to follow them no matter what. On top of laws, there is
another layer of rules that are unwritten and less strict. However, breaking these rules also comes
with consequences. Staring and ostracization from the community are some of the consequences
of breaking the rules. These consequences are meant to regulate one to do what is best for
Even though both of these rules are meant to create a standard for people in the
community. There are differences between laws and norms. Laws, written rules, are the judicial
system of society. It is clear if the action is legal or illegal. There is no gray area in the written
rule, either break it or not break it. As mentioned above, breaking these rules would cost a
penalty, if they get caught. On the other hand, norms have gray areas; there is no fine cut
between norms and not following the norms. They are determined based on the cultures and
locations of the community. What social norms are in the United States, might not be the norms
in Japan. Even though norms might be different among many places, they mainly focus on
reinforcing one to do good things for one’s society and to reduce chaos. Laws are not enough to
1
The History of Sexuality Volume I: An Introduction, written by Michel Foucault,
mentioned that biopower operates primarily on norms as it preserves life. Society fosters one
within the norms and disallows one when one is out of their norms. It focuses on the entire
population and creates the norms which are best for the whole population, not only the ones who
have power. Following the norm allows the population to go beyond life/death situations but
nurturing life and making the population have a better quality of life as they do not rely on
punishment and death to shape one's behavior. Instead, the norm highly encourages members of
As Foucault mentions in the book, “The law always refers to the sword. But a power
whose task is to take charge of life needs continuous regulatory and corrective mechanisms. It is
no longer a matter of bringing death into play in the field of sovereignty, but of distributing the
living in the domain of value and utility.”1 He explained that laws are made to punish ones who
did not follow the law and this could cause death. However, laws are no longer dominant in the
current society as one needs more than just to be alive. Therefore, norms come into play which
creates a guideline for one to follow. Many rules have been treated like norms, therefore, even
though one breaks some of those rules, they may not face death. If one does not follow the social
norms, one would be corrected by others in society. There are consequences when someone
breaks the norm, but none of them are dead. Norms are created to nurture life, making life more
Another example demonstrates that Foucault thinks norms create more than a basic
command of living like having a life, but making an individual a living being, “one no longer
1
Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality: Volume I; An Introduction, trans. Robert Hurley (New York: Vintage
Books, 1978), 144.
2
aspired toward the coming of the emperor of the poor, or the kingdom of the latter days, or even
the restoration of our imagined ancestral rights; what was demanded and what served as an
objective was life, understood as the basic needs, man’s concrete essence, the realization of his
potential, a plenitude of the possible.”2 As mentioned above, one’s life is now more than just
staying alive. Therefore, even though laws are still applied, norms are more important to
purpose. Norms preserve life and maintain its quality so that when one reproduces the next
generation, they are healthy, well-functioning bodies and reproduce healthy and well-functioning
bodies.
In our society, one example that applies this concept is vaccination, especially the
COVID-19 vaccination that recently came out this year. Getting vaccinated prevents one from
getting infected with many deadly diseases such as polio and meningitis. Once someone is born,
there are lists of vaccinations that doctors recommended the infant to get. Some of these deadly
diseases could be prevented by getting shots since birth. Some of these diseases barely existed in
humans anymore since everyone got vaccinated and the virus or bacteria could no longer spread.
Even though this decision was made for an individual, it improves the quality of life for the
whole community. The more people that get vaccinated, the less chance the virus or bacteria
could spread to one another and affect our healthy life. Since one lives longer and healthier, they
will reproduce a better generation that has fewer diseases to worry about and a higher chance to
Even though there are laws about vaccination, one does not have to. This demonstrates
how laws are treated more like norms nowadays. In additionally, this shows how people who get
2
Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality: Volume I; An Introduction, trans. Robert Hurley (New York: Vintage
Books, 1978), 145.
3
vaccinated are following the norms of society. Contrarily, there are people who would not follow
the norms for personal reasons. These reasons could be as simple as they are not strong enough
to get vaccinated or it could be as complicated as their beliefs are against any type of unnatural
creation. For those people who are not strong enough to get vaccinated, they rely on other people
in the society to get vaccinated so that they would not get sick from those contagious diseases.
Therefore, these norms are created to nurture all lives in society even though not everyone could
Both norms and laws are created standards for people in society to follow and live
together. In the past, laws used to rule over everything else and the point is to protect the
powerful figure such as the king, Failing to follow the rule could cause death. Therefore, laws
are created to decide if one can live. On the other hand, norms are created to preserve life and
make life means more than just staying alive which Foucault mentioned as ‘biopower.’ Looking
from the macro perspective, this would create a better society for the next generation. In the
micro perspective, an individual, being in the norms might not be an option, but as long as most
people behave in the norms, it will drive society forward and nurture life to create more life.