Midterm: "The Affects of the Power Structure on Individual Free Will"

“He who is subjected to a field of visibility, and who knows it, assumes responsibility for the constraints of power; he makes them play spontaneously upon himself; he inscribes in himself the power relation in which he simultaneously plays both roles; he becomes the principle in his own subjection.”

This passage describes the effects on the individual of the panoptic power structure described in Michael Foucault’s “Panopticism.” The “field of visibility” refers to the constant watch of a supervisor, a good example being a prison guard tower (they can see you, you can’t see them etc.) This power structure is effective because the person being watched knows he is being watched. He then “assumes responsibility” for the constraints under which he is placed; he is able to manage himself according to expectations without guidance. In this way he “plays both roles” of supervisor and criminal; he subjects himself to a strict set of guidelines, he manages his own self knowing that a constant watch means he would not get away with any breaking of the rules. In this way, he becomes the “principle of his own subjection.” He is subjected to a power structure so ingrained in the function of the prison that he himself becomes a crucial part of the application of authority.

This passage is apocalyptic in that it refers to, in a way, the expiration of free will. When the subjected person(s) become a part of the panopticon, they submit themselves to the authority of the institution; chains, locks, and bars become unnecessary as the structure is not a physical one, but one that constrains free thought. He becomes aware of the expectations of authority and falls under those constraints. Free will is suppressed because he is made to believe that the choices he makes are his own, enforced only lightly by the general understanding of right and wrong given by such an institution. Because he is both governor and subordinate, it is impossible to discern his will from that of the rules that govern him. In this way, an apocalyptic shift occurs in the suppression of free thought and subjection to a new form of order.

Foucault presents this apocalyptic shift as inevitable when this structure is put in place in any institution. This power structure impresses upon the subjected persons a value system placing them in a certain “mold” to which they must adhere to. The structure also “focuses” the institution and its subjects, limiting their ability to think for themselves. It is presented as effective in its purpose, not detrimental to society. It can be seen as aiding in efficiency and as a tool of reform. However, one could also see it more as a way to control and limit free will, turning people into robot-like conformists. The panoptic structure is therefore helpful to the standing order of society, in that it imposes order upon society’s members, but harmful in its effects on the individual and free will.