Wrong-Doing, Truth-Telling
 2014 Book cover | |
| Author | Michel Foucault |
|---|---|
| Translator | Stephen W. Sawyer |
| Country | United States, Great Britain |
| Subject | Confession in Law, Philosophy |
| Set in | Catholic University of Louvain |
| Published | 2014 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press |
| Media type | Print, E-book |
| Pages | 360 |
| ISBN | 9780226708904 9780226922089 |
| OCLC | 783150357 |
| Website | Official website |
Wrong-Doing, Truth-Telling: The Function of Avowal in Justice is a book about a series of lectures delivered at the Catholic University of Louvain by Michel Foucault from early April to late May 1981. The book was edited by Fabienne Brion and Bernard E. Harcourt, translated by Stephen W. Sawyer and was published in 2014 by the University of Chicago Press. [1][2][3][4] This seminar series consists of seven published lectures which occurred over a period of six weeks.[3]
Synopsis
In this set of lectures, Foucault wants to present how feeling obligated to tell the truth about yourself has changed throughout history.[1] For scholars of law, society, and crime, these lectures provide a distinct historical perspective regarding the different methods used in legal settings to find important truths. These truths involve crimes, who committed them, and the moral implications. A major theme throughout these lectures is the constantly changing relationship between admitting guilt ("avowal") and achieving justice for both individuals and society.[3]
Foucault starts with Pre-Socratic ancient Greece and follows how it's evolved over time. Then he sees this truth-telling used in serious fields like medicine, law, and politics. But also truth-telling is applied to personal relationships. According to a reviewer of this work, Jonathan Ree: [1]
- "When I say 'I love you', for example, I am not offering you information about how I happen to feel, but making an avowal--a formulaic declaration which puts me in a position of dependence and binds me to a practice of truth-telling--and Foucault hoped he would be able to explain why."
Also, according to Foucault, for centuries, playwrights dealt with the relationship between justice and admitting the truth. In ancient Greece philosophers believed understanding yourself led to controlling yourself. Christianity's approach to avowal was a radical departure. It didn't rely on religious or philosophical instruction, but instead focused on understanding a person's sinful nature.[1] For Christians, understanding themselves wasn't about becoming a self-sufficient hero. It was about humbly accepting their flaws and accepting a spiritual journey, which Foucault called "the hermeneutics of the self."
Public confessions for wrongdoings eventually changed to confidential confessions with a priest, but later returned to stricter practices within the medieval Church.[1] Foucault then examines how legal truth functioned within the early modern state. This resulted in a 19th century popular attraction to criminal psychology. Hence, judges saw themselves less as interpreters of the law and more as experts on the criminal mind. Punishment wasn't just about the criminal act or ensuing penalty, but about forcing criminals to come to terms with their motives.[1]
Foucault realized that the seven lectures was not enough to cover the material he wanted to cover. However, he was willing to propose the possibilities of these connections and insights for successors to research or look into. [1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Ree, Johnathan (December 5, 2014). "Put to the question". Times Literary Supplement. No. 5827. Gale Literature Resource Center. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "Reviewed work: Wrong-Doing, Truth-Telling: The Function of Avowal in Justice, Michel Foucault, Fabienne Brion, Bernard E. Harcourt, Stephen W. Sawyer". History and Theory. 54 (2): 306. 2015. JSTOR 24543106.
- ^ a b c Valverde, Mariana (2015). "Foucault on "Avowal": Theatres of Truth from Homer to Modern Psychology". Law & Social Inquiry. 40 (4): 1080–1097. doi:10.1111/lsi.12165. JSTOR 24545789. S2CID 146228085.
- ^ Ball, Matthew (2015). "Reviewed work: Wrong-Doing, Truth-Telling: The Function of Avowal in Justice, Michel Foucault, Fabienne Brion, Bernard E. Harcourt, Stephen W. Sawyer". The British Journal of Criminology. 55 (6): 1284–1287. doi:10.1093/bjc/azv020. JSTOR 43819356.
Further reading
- Milchman, Alan; Rosenberg, Alan (2015). "Reviewed work: On the Government of the Living, Michel Foucault, Graham Burchell". The Review of Politics. 77 (4): 683–687. doi:10.1017/S0034670515000674. JSTOR 43671113. S2CID 152265185.
- West, Patrick (June 28, 2004). "Michel Foucault taught that might is right, truth is relative, and history just an interesting narrative". New Statesman. Gale Literature Resource Center. A critical essay.