Michel Foucault’s “The Birth of the Clinic” (Part 1/2)

[@lcbruns]

I'm so happy to have found this video and your channel/podcasts! I'm studying for my PhD exams and trying to wrap my head around Foucault (specifically, this book and biopolitics). This video is so awesome and I appreciate the way that you explain the concepts to make the texts accessible. Thank you for walking us through these texts!

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

Happy to hear it Laura! And good luck with the PhD exams--i went through them last year and can sympathize haha

[@cheri238]

​@@TheoryPhilosophy Lol😊

[@ananyachatterjee5986]

This video is so useful! Helps to understand the book better.

[@jennyaskswhy]

Fantastic examination of a concept; i have a feeling i'm going to need to visit this topic a couple of times before i really understand it.

[@chasm6091]

Thank you so much for this!!

[@danieldrazenovich935]

My understanding of this relates to subjectivity and objectivity. Also it relates to personality and normality. The birth of the clinic is relevant either to the subject or the object. To the person or to the populace.

[@theory_underground]

I would love if you did a whole video some day about Foucault's "cherrypicking" and how damning it is or is not. It's something I wonder about a lot. Most people who are introduced to theory find it in very relativistic contexts, such as literature classes, where it's just a matter of applying a lens. Philosophers don't just apply lenses willy-nilly though, we ask what occasions call for certain lenses over others, and what qualifies a lens as useful or justifiable, or moreover, what might undermine or even disqualify the application of a lens. I'm really interested in questions related to epistemology of history, narrative, etc., and the question of Foucault's method seems a really productive arena for such explorations.

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

This is out of the realm of Foucault's cherry picking, but Baudrillard's critique--which I know you know of, but that I'm sharing here for people who might read the comments--does a really good job at pointing to the way that Foucualt's project "mirrors" the same oppressive regimens of power he describes.

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

We could chat about this stuff too via Zoom or whatever and that way we'd also have some content to post haha

[@junkettarp8942]

Where it begins could be more important than where it ends...but I'm probably wrong.

[@cheri238]

​@TheoryPhilosophy The medical field of doctors had been in the dark ages for years. However, what kind of particular doctor and the diversity of doctors grew after the 18th century. It divided into many different areas of many languages. The finding of the DNA gene was most significant.

[@larissabsa]

Excellent!

[@nitukar4230]

Thank you for your useful information... 🤗

[@timhorton2486]

Thank you for doing this stuff

[@Tsundere_]

@TheoryPhilosophy Can the 'Birth of the Clinic' be used to talk about Psychological illness too? Can the 'Medical Gaze' be applied to disorders as well? I got the impression that Foucault might be focusing particularly on Physiological illness. Please clarify.

[@cheri238]

You are doing excellent on Foucault. Please look on the back of my last comment, the one after I ask, are we still living in the dark ages. Thank you.

[@Marcin_Pawlik]

You stay safe as well, David! I'm currently reading Deleuze's 'Nietzsche and Philosopy', so Foucault is a nice change of topic but still in a close relation to them. I like to think of Nietzsche, Foucault and Deleuze as kind of working together. I have a question, and it's something I've been thinking about for a while. Do you think this ongoing pandermic presents a possibility for a revolution? It's a really strange situation we have now and I can't help but wonder about that, even if it's a little naive of me.

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

I don't think so....If anything, this presents a greater consolidation of power by multi-national corporations. Amazon, Walmart, and the banks will be fine. Small business and all people forced in the gig economy will be forced to fight for the scraps, not organize. I'm an idiot tho. What do you think??

[@Marcin_Pawlik]

​@@TheoryPhilosophy Sadly, that seems to be the way things are going to play out. I've heard some predictions for a revolution led by people form small business, who after spending months at home, while everything necesery still works, would feel useless to society. However, this seems to me like the underlying assumption here was that financial support form goverment(s) would prevent a total collapse of small business and allow for the emergence of this kind of situation where there is a possibility and a motive for organization. But idk about that, depends on what kind of help we will see form goverments. Here in Poland they made some nice promises but then again, election is coming. Well if you're an idiot I don't know what I am lol.

[@neophytos1892]

great stuff. and you sound like Matthew McConaughey

[@TheoryPhilosophy]

Lmao I've never heard that before

[@mikehev222]

Who did the guitar music

[@cheri238]

For centuries doctors could not understand what created the plague and millions died. Then for a time it was blamed on rats. Could it have been starvation and wars, the poor rats eating dead people to survive, and then rats being on battle ships of war and rats going into other countries? Poor rats being used in research still today. Washing hands before surgery, doctors learned that was important. Now who didcovered that? It was a women wasn't it?😊 The medical field grew wealthy and isurance companies. Professors writing dissertation papers to obtain grants in various fields, competition became important. What year was the hippocatic oath began? Doctors are just doctors, they are just human. Good and dark there. Today in 2024 there are much dissent of of why we don't have universal health care. Are we still in the dark ages? Mental institutions were created and if one was not wealthy enough, people could not get in one, and then the state mental institutions were created and the poor were sent there. Many rapes continued there. Then here in th United States, it was under President Ronald Reagon, they were placed on the streets and homelessness grew. Another tragedy of beauocracies.

[@markodrenjancevic8410]

How can I contact you? Email or something? Actually wanted to give you a recommendation. What do you think of Soren Kierkegaard and his literature? Give it a thought. Hello from Croatia.

[@billthompson7072]

You miss the whole point about secularism #125