Abstract

The purpose of this paper, then, is to establish the relationship between the critical force of Foucault's genealogy and his views power. The paper is divided into four main parts. In the first part, I elaborate the prominent objection that the critical force of Foucault's genealogies is undermined by his notion of power. In the second part, I reconstruct Foucault's account of power in considerable detail, and clarify the 'strategical model' of power which informs his genealogical critiques. In the third part, I establish the critical force of his genealogy by distinguishing two stages of genealogical critique. Finally, I respond to the objection against Foucault and conclude that his account of power does not undermine his genealogical critiques, but rather provides them with radical critical force and ultimately leads to a novel reconceptualization of ethics.