Foucault: Docile Bodies

Foucault used the term docility to explain how control and power was achieved through actions of discipline. This was a way of controlling the operations and positions of the body. He said that the body was a subject of attention and though people were no longer subjected to force, violence, or torture, the body was now subject to discipline and control. Foucault submitted that this same discipline was used in monastaries and armies. Through the strict behavior and rituals followed by the monks and the strict drill sessions and ettiquete of soldiers, discipline depends on the idea of series; the ranks and lines of monks and soldiers. Foucault also goes on to say that the same method of discipline which fixes individuals in time and space is used om schools, prisons, and hospitals.

Foucault's analysis of discipline could not be more accurate. Discipline is used through all institutions of social life. Whether it be school, work, prision, church, or hospitals; everyone involved is subject to an extent of discipline. As humans, we are subjects of habit and consistency. Discipline takes that and uses it to fix every subject to assimilate to certain rules or guidelines posed by each particular institution. Foucault also posed exercise as a method of discipline. I couldn't agree more. Exercise is definitely a method of discipline because one subjects the body to a controlled routine and strict maintenance. Though discipline is clearly physical, it is the mental control that makes it most effective. Since our bodies and minds work synonomously, control and discipline of the body, yeilds control and discipline of the mind.