Luther and Biopower: Rethinking the Reformation with Foucault

Forfattere

  • Samuel Lindholm University of Jyväskylä
  • Andrea Di Carlo Independent researcher, Republic of Ireland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22439/fs.i36.7228

Nøgleord:

Michel Foucault, the Reformation, biopolitics, disciplinary power, Martin Luther, Lutheranism

Resumé

In this article, we propose an alternative Foucauldian reading of Martin Luther’s thought and early Lutheranism. Michel Foucault did not mention the Reformation often, although he saw it as an amplification of pastoral power and the governing of people’s everyday lives. We aim to fill the gap in his analysis by outlining the disciplinary and biopolitical aspects in Luther and early Lutheranism. Therefore, we also contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the birth of biopolitics, which, we argue, predates Foucault’s periodisation. Our approach to tackling these questions is three-pronged. First, we establish the context by highlighting a few Reformation-era examples of the conceptual opposite of biopower, namely, sovereign power. Second, we scrutinise the disciplinary aspects of early Lutheranism, underscoring the fact that disciplinary institutions appear to subject people to new models of behaviour. Third, we describe the biopolitical undercurrents in Luther’s thought and its early reception. We argue that the reformer’s views on issues such as marriage and poor relief appear to carry a biopolitical significance before the alleged birth of biopolitics.

Forfatterbiografier

Samuel Lindholm, University of Jyväskylä

Samuel Lindholm has a doctorate in political science from the University of Jyväskylä and is the author of Jean Bodin and Biopolitics Before the Biopolitical Era (2024). His postdoctoral work focuses on the theory and early modern history of biopolitics. It has received funding from the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Alfred Kordelin Foundation and the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation.

Andrea Di Carlo, Independent researcher, Republic of Ireland

Andrea Di Carlo has a doctorate in history of philosophy from University College Cork. His main area of expertise is continental philosophy, with a special focus on Michel Foucault and critical theory. He has published in Reformation, Arrêt sur scène, Scene Focus, Palgrave, and History of European Ideas. He has received funding from the Fondazione Sistema Toscana.

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Publiceret

2024-09-01

Citation/Eksport

Lindholm, S., & Di Carlo, A. (2024). Luther and Biopower: Rethinking the Reformation with Foucault. Foucault Studies, (36), 470–493. https://doi.org/10.22439/fs.i36.7228