Agamben’s Foucault: An overview

Authors

  • Anke Snoek Macquarie University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22439/fs.v0i10.3123

Abstract

This article gives an overview of the influence of the work of Michel Foucault on the philosophy of Agamben. Discussed are Foucault’s influence on the Homo Sacer cycle, on (the development) of Agamben’s notion of power (and on his closely related notion of freedom and art of life), as well as on Agamben’s philosophy of language and methodology. While most commentaries focus on Agamben’s interpretation of Foucault’s concept of biopower, his work also contains many interesting references to Foucault on freedom and possibilities—and I think that it is here that Foucault’s influence on Agamben is most deeply felt. This article focuses on the shifts Agamben takes while looking for the Entwicklungsfähigkeit in the work of Foucault.

Author Biography

Anke Snoek, Macquarie University

Anke Snoek is a PhD student at Macquarie University, studying the relationship between addiction and autonomy. She graduated at the University of Humanistics. She wrote her Master's thesis on Giorgio Agamben’s Homo Sacer. A longstanding research interest of hers is the relation between biopolitics, ethics and autonomy. She has presented various articles on the work of Giorgio Agamben, especially in relation to the work of Foucault and Kafka.

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Published

2010-11-01

How to Cite

Snoek, A. (2010). Agamben’s Foucault: An overview. Foucault Studies, (10), 44–67. https://doi.org/10.22439/fs.v0i10.3123

Issue

Number 10: November 2010: Foucault and Agamben

Section

Special Issue on Foucault and Agamben

License

Authors retain copyright to their work, but assign the right of the first publication to Foucault Studies. The work is subject to a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, but despite these restrictions, authors can take for granted that Foucault Studies will permit articles published in Foucault Studies to be translated or reprinted in another format such as a book providing a full reference is made to Foucault Studies as the original place of publication.