Evangelia Sembou - Hegels Phenomenology and Foucaults Genealogy

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EVANGELIA SEMBOU

First published 2015 by Ashgate Publishing

Published 2016 by Routledge
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Copyright 2015 Evangelia Sembou.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Sembou, Evangelia.

Hegels Phenomenology and Foucaults Genealogy / by Evangelia Sembou.

pages cm. (Classical and contemporary social theory)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4094-4308-7 (hardback) ISBN 978-1-4094-4309-4 (ebook) ISBN 978-1
4724-0601-9 (epub) 1. Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 1770-1831. Phdnomenologie des
Geistes. 2. Foucault, Michel, 1926-1984. 3. Genealogy (Philosophy) I. Title.

B2929.S455 2015

193dc23

2014020769

ISBN: 978-1-409-44308-7 (hbk)

The book reflects my own philosophical itinerary. I studied Hegels 1807 Phenomenology and political philosophy as a graduate student at The University of Edinburgh during the academic year 19956. There I attended a course jointly taught by Mr. Richard Gunn and Dr. Kimberly Hutchings, and spent much fruitful time discussing Hegels Phenomenology with Dr. Kimberly Hutchings at tutorials. While at Edinburgh I also wrote my Masters dissertation on the genealogies of Nietzsche and Foucault, also under the supervision of Dr. Kimberly Hutchings. In addition, at Edinburgh I benefited from a course on the philosophy of social sciences (the continental tradition) taught by Dr. Martin Kusch, from discussions with such social theorists as Dr. John Holmwood and Dr. John Orr, as well as from the work of Professor Russell Keat. I went on to write my doctoral thesis on Hegels Phenomenology of Spirit with Professor Lord Plant at the University of Oxford (19962000). Obviously, I am indebted to all the above people for their constructive criticism, advice and encouragement. I have published articles on Hegel, as well as on Hegel and Foucault, and have presented my work on these topics at international conferences and workshops. I have also published a revised version of my doctoral thesis on Hegels Phenomenology of Spirit (2012). Moreover, I have benefited from attending the conferences of the Hegel Society of Great Britain. Many of the issues discussed in the book were re-thought while I was a tutor at Oxford University (20032007) and developed by independent study thereafter. Therefore, this book is the culmination of my intellectual development so far. Finally, and not least, I would like to thank Ashgate for making this book possible, the anonymous reviewers, Matthew Irving, the editor at Ashgate and Pam Bertram for preparing the index.

The purpose of this book is to compare and contrast Hegels phenomenology with Foucaults genealogy. It sets out to explore the merits and demerits of each of these two approaches, with a view of benefiting from the combination of their respective strengths. To many it will seem that this project, if not impossible, is at least fraught with difficulties from the very beginning. Hegelian phenomenology and Foucauldian genealogy have traditionally represented two different strands in continental philosophy. On the one hand, Hegelian phenomenology is about human conscious experience (the experience of consciousness). On the other hand, Foucauldian genealogy has its roots in Nietzsches On the Genealogy of Morals, which traces origins in order to question entrenched beliefs and values. Hegel is a modernist and systematic thinker; at the same time, he is associated with teleological grand narratives. By contrast, Foucault is a post-modernist thinker, a post-structuralist and deconstructionist. Moreover, Hegels rigorous, austere and academic style contrasts sharply with Foucaults unsystematic, provocative and gripping manner. Besides, in his remarks that are scattered in his works Foucault has often been very critical of Hegelianism, albeit at times quite ambiguous (e.g. Foucault 1966: 318, 338, 339, 342, 345; 2002a: 335, 356, 357, 361, 364; 1971: 7479; 1981: 4877; 1994c: 145; 1980: 114115; 1994d: 43, 48, 4950; 2002b: 241, 246247, 248, 249; 2001: 2930, 466467; 2005: 28, 477479). Yet, Foucault has had to define himself vis--vis Hegel and his thought relates to Hegelianism in significant ways. In this connection, it should not be forgotten that Foucaults directeur de doctorat was Jean Hyppolite, with whom he enjoyed a long relationship and who was one of the greatest French interpreters of Hegel.

Central to my argument is that, despite their manifold differences, Hegelian phenomenology and Foucauldian genealogy make a common contribution to philosophy; they go beyond such distinctions as subject/object, theory/praxis, universal/particular, reason/nature and mind/body distinctions that have characterized all traditional philosophizing. The foregoing dichotomies are part and parcel of foundational thinking, and the main thesis of this book is that Hegels phenomenology and Foucaults genealogy point the way toward a non-foundational knowledge.