I’m trying to write an essay on systemic risks and crisis and I’ve read SO many texts now trying to explain the concept of “dispositif”, but all I’m getting from it is that it’s kind of the same thing as a system? If it is, then why even use the word “dispositif”? Could anyone explain it to me? I’m kind of desperate.
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For me it’s like a refinement of the ideas he wrote about in The Archaeology of Knowledge, the space between events that allows events to happen, the binding and consequent unbinding of the physical, structural, linguistic and personal machinism of society that intertwine to enable societies imaginary vision of what is normal, and in turn what is not.
The intricacies of the different and often indeed apparently unrelated elements can have different roles within society at the same time. A very coarse example of this could be the police, they protect but at the same time can oppress. Now imagine that unsubtle example across the board for almost all intertwined societal influences, all of the discussions, the political directions, the services… forming the norm at any one chosen time in history. Constantly evolving and mutating, reforming deviancy and madness, and indeed how to respond to such things, within its self constructed relevance of contemporary normalcy.
Think about the dispotif as an instrument/system used by actors in a position of power to excite or hold that power. An everyday example of this is for example a parent, who decides to buy a phone for their child. In one side the child may profit from this intrument as they can contact their parent, have access to internet or communicate with their companions. But in the same time, the parent being in this position of power in relation to their child may interfere in the privacy of their children, scroll at their phone, have access of their location at all times or even track their internet history. This is a banal example of the dispotif, but no different to Foucault than would be for example the psychiatry (institution to aid the mentally unfit, but in the same time to control and exert some sort of authority to them), the prison, medicine etc.
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