The place of human subject in Foucault's and Deleuze's philosophies

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2005
Taner, Erdem
The main objective of this master̕s thesis is to analyze the place assigned to human subjectivity by French philosophers Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze. In order to fulfil the requirements of this objective, what is focused on is their shared critique which is exercised against the traditional conceptions of humanity and subjectivity. Through the thesis, first Foucault̕s analyses which demonstrate that universal man as a construction emerges as an effect of discursive practices and power relations, and his archaeological method that illustrates knowledge process is not dependent on transcendental consciousness are explained and discussed. Then it is argued that Deleuzian philosophy of becoming which does not submit to any transcendent unity that governs experience is an actual alternative to subject-centered understandings of the world. Throughout the course of arguments it is emphasized that according to both Foucault and Deleuze the human subject is an effect of network type relations that occur in a non-subjective fashion.

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Citation Formats
E. Taner, “The place of human subject in Foucault’s and Deleuze’s philosophies,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2005.