A Antiguidade como o espaço da diferença no pensamento de Micheol Foucault

Dos Monumenta ao mundo digital

Abstract

In this text, I explore the space that Antiquity has in Michel Foucault's reflections. To achieve this, I examine the significance of the past in two of his works: Discipline and Punish and The History of Sexuality, volume 2. In Discipline and Punish, I emphasize his exploration of torture in the Old Regime. I argue that, in this case, Foucault employs the study of the past to critique the belief in progress and the thesis of the humanization of punishment with the advent of the prison system. In The History of Sexuality, volume 2, ancient philosophies take center stage. Through the aesthetics of existence, Foucault gives preference to modes of subjectivity production that differ from the disciplinary subject desired in modernity. In this sense, I perceive Antiquity as the space of difference in Foucault's thought, especially when he underscores that one of the purposes of ancient philosophies is to provide prescriptions guiding the relationships individuals establish with themselves and with others, aiming to radically transform existences.