Question:

How can individuals become critically aware of the disciplinary forces installed
by institutions that shape their lives and start making well-informed decisions?

The following text intends to utilize Michel Foucault’s concept of disciplinary power and
discourse to investigate if it can be wielded to inform the individual about the disciplinary
forces used by institutions and make decisions on their own or as a collective without
the influence of institutions.

The forms of power have changed through civilizations from physical disciplines, such
as compulsion and coercion, to societal power, as stated by Foucault: “[...]; in every
society, the body was in the grip of very strict powers, which imposed on its constraints,
prohibitions, or obligations.”1 In other words, institutions have set ‘rules’ that govern
individuals to act a certain way, which throughout time society has become conditioned
to. For Foucault, discourse not only means the production of knowledge through
language but also the construction of power: It dictates what can and cannot be said
and who can or cannot say it.2

A possible interpretation of this question would be that the acknowledgment of

disciplinary powers among individuals allows for better autonomy and empowerment.
There is a relevant argument to be made here, given the fact that institutions have come
to be part of our everyday life,3 be it through schools, hospitals, or maybe even through
jobs and our families. Foucault’s theory brings to light the idea of questioning
assumptions imposed by institutions, examining the power dynamics in a given
situation, and taking well-thought-out and responsible measures as an individual to
combat this. Furthermore, by becoming aware of the ‘rules’ set by institutions,
individuals could challenge some of these imposed ‘rules’ which might be discriminatory
towards others, while still keeping the powers that are productive to society in match.
Doing so would also establish a healthy as well as functioning democracy and a just
and equitable society.

On the other hand, another possible interpretation of Foucault’s theory would be that
disciplinary power imposed by institutions has become so engraved and rooted in
different parts of society that institutional influence cannot be completely separated from
the individual. By the same token, it would be nearly impossible to even do so, as the
mechanisms to which we are subject have also become so hidden in society that we
cannot create meaningful change, let alone discuss it in a critical manner without it
being labeled as complex or outside of the norm by others: Discourse allows little to no
room for challenging the constraints and obligations put forth by institutions.

1 Michel Foucault, “Docile Bodies” in The Foucault Reader, ed. Paul Rabinow (New York: Pantheon
Books, 1984), 180.
2 Chris Barker and Emma A. Jane, Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice (Sage Publications Limited,
2016), 23.
3 Foucault, “Docile Bodies”, 182.
To conclude, the question regarding the disciplinary powers installed by institutions and
the discourse surrounding it is of great importance. The work of Michel Foucault gives
us the stepping stones to understanding how institutions use disciplinary power to
subject individuals, yet his work does not give the individual a solid course of action to
effectively utilize the power by changing it for their good or society’s good.

Bibliography

Barker, Chris, and Emma A. Jane. Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. Sage

Publications Limited, 2016.

Foucault, Michel. “Docile Bodies (from: Discipline and Punishment)” In The

Foucault Reader, ed. by Paul Rabinow, 179-187. New York: Pantheon Books,

1984.