Michel Foucault's Concept of the "Care of the Self"

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  • M.フーコーにおける「自己への配慮」
  • M フーコー ニ オケル ジコ エノ ハイリョ リンリ セイジテキ ナ ジリツ シュタイ ノ ケイセイ オ チュウシン ニ
  • An "ethico-political" viewpoint
  • 〈倫理-政治的〉な自律主体の形成を中心に

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This paper analyzes Michel Foucault s concept of the "care of the self" (epimeleia heautou), a theoretical point of departure in Foucault's study of ancient thought, which he addressed in the 1980s. Through this analysis, I intend to prove that Foucault developed this concept from his perspective of the constitution of the individual as an "ethico-political" subject that resists political powers. For this purpose, three points need to be examined using Foucaulf's logic.<br>First this paper clarifies that the care of the self is considered a point of resistance to political powers, and that this concept is defined as a practice of transformation in order to ensure access to the truth, that is, as a practice of "spirituality".<br>Second, this paper explores the role of the "other" in the care of the self. The other functions in the form of the "relationship of the self to the self." This other has two phases: the phase of a hēgemōn (a guide to the guided) and the phase of an object of care in the relation between the care of the self and the care of the others. Through my analyses, I point out the ethico-political functions in the relation between the self and the other.<br>Finally, this paper specifies that the care of the self enables the individual to "tell the truth" (parrhesia). Foucault dealt with the concept of parrhesia in his last years; this concept is characterized by an ēthos of anti-flattery that involves certain risks.<br>By examining these three points, I would like to demonstrate that the care of the self is conceptualized from an ethico-political viewpoint.

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