Leiden University Student Repository

Hout, Joyce van den (2016)

Het ‘Foucault-Habermas debat’

Bachelor thesis | Wijsbegeerte (BA)

This thesis is about the ‘Foucault-Habermas-debate’ in the sense that this thesis is an attempt to finish the debate between Michael Foucault and Jurgen Habermas which actually had not taken place. Habermas had criticized Foucault in the The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity but this work was published in 1985 after Foucault’s death. In this thesis I shall investigate to what extent the critique of Habermas on Foucault’s method of genealogy and his view on power and the subject, hold. In the first chapter of the thesis I am going to explain Foucault method of genealogy, his theory of the prison and his view on power. In the second chapter of the thesis I shall discuss some arguments of Habermas against Foucault’s method of genealogy and his view on power. In the third chapter of the thesis I shall defend Foucault against Habermas. In this part I will argue that Habermas misinterpreted Foucault on some points and that Foucault is able to reply to Habermas’ critique. Finally I...Show moreThis thesis is about the ‘Foucault-Habermas-debate’ in the sense that this thesis is an attempt to finish the debate between Michael Foucault and Jurgen Habermas which actually had not taken place. Habermas had criticized Foucault in the The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity but this work was published in 1985 after Foucault’s death. In this thesis I shall investigate to what extent the critique of Habermas on Foucault’s method of genealogy and his view on power and the subject, hold. In the first chapter of the thesis I am going to explain Foucault method of genealogy, his theory of the prison and his view on power. In the second chapter of the thesis I shall discuss some arguments of Habermas against Foucault’s method of genealogy and his view on power. In the third chapter of the thesis I shall defend Foucault against Habermas. In this part I will argue that Habermas misinterpreted Foucault on some points and that Foucault is able to reply to Habermas’ critique. Finally I conclude that Habermas critique on Foucault does not hold and that Foucault is ‘the winner’ of the debate.Show less

Foucault

Habermas

Subject

Power

Genealogy

Author

Hout, Joyce van den

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Ethics and Political Philosophy

Supervisors

Uljée, R.

ECTS Credits

10

Language

nl