Technologies of the Self: Learning from Michel Foucault

“Technologies of the Self” - Charcoal illustration by Ajanbeni K Yanthan, a Naga Visual Artist based in Wokha. For art relatedwork, contact:  IG @___artwithaheartor ajan14yanthan@gmail.com

“Technologies of the Self” - Charcoal illustration by Ajanbeni K Yanthan, a Naga Visual Artist based in Wokha. For art relatedwork, contact: IG @___artwithaheartor ajan14yanthan@gmail.com

Dr Brainerd Prince

Introduction

When we think of technology, more often than not, we think of something out there – a kind of machine which helps us to do tasks more efficiently. Take for instance the calculator, a good example of technology that helps us to do calculations in a more efficient manner. 

However, the word ‘technology’ also refers to the manner in which something is done. We know the difference between old and modern technologies of farming. It is a fair question to then ask - what exactly is technology? Although it is such a common word, I don’t think we have spent enough time trying to understand what exactly technology means.

One of the first thinkers to write a serious article on technology is Martin Heidegger. In his article ‘The Question Concerning Technology’ Heidegger points to the Greek root, techne as the knowledge of producing things.Therefore, it is to the Greeks we must first go. 

In Aristotle we find several terms that have a close connection to techne. The termpoiesis refers to the productive attitude of humans that enables humans to produce things that are not given in nature. Techne can then be seen as the knowledge that guides poiesis in its productive endeavours.  With this, we could now say that technology is the practical reasoning that we possess, including knowledge and skills, that accompanies and guides productive activities.

It is also useful to look at what Michel Foucault has to say about technology because he breaks it into four types. Foucault says that, ‘As a context, we must understand that there are four major types of these “technologies,” each a matrix of practical reason: (I) technologies of production, which permit us to produce, transform, or manipulate things; (2) technologies of sign systems, which permit us to use signs, meanings, symbols, or signification; (3) technologies of power, which determine the conduct of individuals and submit them to certain ends or domination, an objectivizing of the subject; (4) technologies of the self, which permit individuals to effect by their own means or with the help of others a certain number of operations on their own bodies and souls, thoughts, conduct, and way of being, so as to transform themselves in order to attain a certain state of happiness, purity, wisdom, perfection, or immortality.’

Foucault has summarized four technologies of the self from the Greco-Roman philosophy of the first and second centuries, and from the Christian spiritual and monastic principles of the fourth and fifth centuries of the Roman Empire. Let us learn, from Foucault, how we can use these technologies to transform our lives.In Greek, these practices are also called epimelesthai sautou, which means ‘to take care of yourself,’ or to have ‘a concern with self’.

Vigilance and Writing

The first technology of the self is to pay careful attention to oneself. It is a disciplined practice of taking stock of oneself. As we live through the day, our mind is constantly ‘representing’ the world around itself, reflecting on it, and passing judgements. This hugely affects the kind of person we become. Therefore, we are advised to set aside a few moments every day to retreat into oneself and take stock. What sort of thoughts are we thinking? How are we representing the world around us? Being vigilant, like a watchman, carefully taking notes of what comes in and what goes out of our mind. 

Writing also plays an important role in keeping vigilance and taking care of oneself. ‘One of the main features of taking care involved taking notes on oneself to be reread, writing treatises and letters to friends to help them, and keeping notebooks in order to reactivate for oneself the truths one needed.’ Writing is a powerful way of taking stock. People write personal journals and diaries or even a daily blog and give an account of their day. Foucault says that, ‘A relation developed between writing and vigilance. Attention was paid to nuances of life, mood, and reading, and the experience of oneself was intensified and widened by virtue of this act of writing. A whole field of experience opened which earlier was absent’.

Culture of Silence and the Art of Listening

The second technology of the self is the practice of listening and silence. We are able to notice a gradual disappearance of dialogue, characteristic of Plato’s Academy, and in its place the development of a new relationship between the master and student - a new pedagogical game where the master/teacher speaks and doesn't ask questions and the disciple doesn't answer but must listen and keep silent.’ The culture of silence gained great importance, and in Pythagorean culture, ‘disciples kept silent for five years as a pedagogical rule. They didn't ask questions or speak up during the lesson, but they developed the art of listening.’ 

Plutarch's treatise on the art of listening to lectures (Peri touakouein) gives deep insights on this subject. At the beginning of this treatise, Plutarch says that, ‘following schooling, we have to learn to listen to logos throughout our adult life.’ The art of listening is crucial because it enables us to discern between what is true and what is being concealed. Listening is proof that you're not mindlessly under the control of the masters but that we can listen to logos or the voice of reason. Therefore, ‘you keep silent at the lecture. You think about it afterward. This is the art of listening to the voice of the master and the voice of reason in yourself.’

Askesis as Mastery over Oneself

When we are living life, life throws a variety of circumstances and situations at us. Often, we find ourselves unprepared and at that moment, we say or do things that later we regret. We feel it is impossible to control how we behave in that moment. Foucault’s argument is that the technology of the self, askesis, is able to prepare us for such moments. We can call it ascetic power or even spiritual discipline power. While in Christianity, asceticism is seen as renunciation of the self or a renouncing of one’s self in order to access heaven, in Stoicism, ‘askesis means not renunciation but the progressive consideration of self, or mastery over oneself, obtained not through the renunciation of reality but through the acquisition and assimilation of truth.’ The Greek word for this is paraskeuazo (“to get prepared”). It is a set of practices by which one can acquire, assimilate, and transform truth into a permanent principle of action. Aletheia becomes ethos. What this means is that after doing these exercises of melete and gymnasia, or meditation and gymnasium, one is able to find oneself prepared for life. 

Melete is the preparatory work one did by thinking over useful terms and arguments in one’s mind in anticipation of a real situation. One judges the reasoning one should use in an imaginary exercise (“Let us suppose ...”) in order to test an action or event (for example, “How would I react?”). Imagining the articulation of possible events to test how you would react – that's meditation.’ At the opposite pole is gymnasia (“to train oneself”). While meditatio is an imaginary experience that trains thought, gymnasia are training in a real situation, even if it's been artificially induced.

Confessions and Disclosures

Another technology of the self is the disclosures we make through our acts of confession. It is the act of confession that reveals who we really are and what is happening in our inner life. This helps us to ‘acknowledge faults, to recognize temptations, to locate desires, and everyone is obliged to disclose these things’ This continual verbalization of our thoughts is a form of self-examination that seeks to finally render inner purity. There are two main forms of confessing and disclosing oneself: the first is exomologesis which is a dramatic expression of one’s inner self, a baring of one’s soul. The other form is exagoreusis which is much more analytical and is done to pledge one’s obedience to someone else, like a master.

Conclusion

Most of us think of technology in terms of technologies of production. However, here we have focused on the technologies of the self, which is perhaps a unique way of looking at technology. The product is we, ourselves. And the engineer who works on us, is also we, ourselves. According to Foucault, we can perform, with the technologies of self, actions and operations on our bodies and souls and transform ourselves.In our fast-moving technological world, may this be our experience as well.

Dr Brainerd Prince teaches and tutors students on academic and research skills. He consults for higher education institutions on research, academic skill training and on designing research programmes. Contact: samvada.research@gmail.com