Historia de la sexualidad /Vol. 1. La voluntad de saber
by Michel Foucault
Social Science
Abordar la sexualidad como experiencia históricamente singular requiere desentrañar los saberes que a ella se refieren , bucear en los sistemas de poder que regulan su práctica y, sobre todo, comprender las formas según las cuales los individuos se conciben y se declaran como sujetos de esa sexualidad. La historia de la sexualidad, el proyecto más ambicioso en la obra de Michel Foucault -del que sólo alcanzó a publicar los primeros tres volúmenes-, es una deslumbrante e iconoclasta exploración de los juegos de verdad mediante los cuales el ser humano se ha reconocido como hombre de deseo. Su primer volumen, La voluntad de saber, está consagrado a definir el régimen de poder-saber-placer que sostiene el discurso sobre la sexualidad humana y a mostrar que, más que a través de la represión del sexo, el poder opera mediante la producción discursiva de la sexualidad y de los sujetos de "naturaleza sexual". El punto esencial no es saber si al sexo se le dice sí o no, si se castigan o no las palabras que lo designan, sino determinar en qué formas, a través de qué canales, deslizándose a lo largo de qué discursos llega el poder hasta las conductas más tenues y más individuales, qué caminos le permiten alcanzar las formas infrecuentes o apenas perceptibles del deseo, cómo infiltra y controla el placer cotidiano. No pretendo afirmar que la prohibición del sexo sea un engaño, sino que lo es convertirla en el elemento fundamental y constituyente a partir del cual se podría escribir la historia de lo que ha sido dicho a propósito del sexo en la época moderna.
Bridges
Books that connect different domains
Bridges summary
Michel Foucault's *Historia de la sexualidad / Vol. 1. La voluntad de saber* offers a profound and challenging lens through which to understand how power operates, extending far beyond conventional notions of prohibition and repression. This foundational text, the first in Foucault's ambitious project to chart the history of sexuality, argues that power is not merely a force that denies or censoms, but one that actively produces discourse, knowledge, and ultimately, the very subjects who experience sexuality. It delves into the intricate web of power-knowledge-pleasure relations, demonstrating how sexuality has become a central object of knowledge and control, not through the silencing of desire, but through its constant proliferation and categorization. The book interrogates how individuals come to understand themselves as desiring subjects, shaped by historical regimes of truth that dictate what can be said, thought, and felt about sex. This exploration of human self-conception under the influence of power and discourse finds a compelling resonance with Terry Eagleton's *On Evil*. While Foucault dissects the mechanisms of power shaping sexual identity, Eagleton embarks on a rigorous deconstruction of evil itself, scrutinizing its origins, its manifestations, and its philosophical underpinnings. The bridge between these two seemingly divergent works lies in their shared commitment to uncovering the underlying structures that define human experience and agency. Both authors engage in a critical examination of how abstract concepts – be it the production of sexuality or the nature of evil – are not inherent qualities but are actively constructed and maintained through specific historical, social, and discursive formations. Foucault's meticulous unravelling of how power infiltrates our most intimate desires and self-perceptions echoes Eagleton's exploration of how "evil" is not simply an absence of good, but a complex phenomenon woven into the fabric of human societies and ideologies. Both texts challenge readers to move beyond simplistic binaries, suggesting that understanding human behavior, whether in its sexual expression or its capacity for harm, requires a deep dive into the historical forces that shape our understanding and our actions. The "will to know," as Foucault terms it, is powerfully mirrored in Eagleton's drive to comprehend the contours of evil. In both instances, the pursuit of knowledge is inextricably linked with the dissection of power dynamics and the often-unconscious processes that give form to human experience. The intricate ways in which societal forces forge not only individuals' sexual identities but also their moral frameworks are illuminated by these parallel inquiries, revealing a shared intellectual lineage focused on the critical analysis of what it means to be human within the constraints and productions of power.
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