Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison Paperback – 25 April 1991

by Michel Foucault (Author), Alan Sheridan (Translator)

4.7 1,193 ratings

In the Middle Ages there were gaols and dungeons, but punishment was for the most part a spectacle. The economic changes and growing popular dissent of the 18th century made necessary a more systematic control over the individual members of society, and this in effect meant a change from punishment, which chastised the body, to reform, which touched the soul. Foucault shows the development of the Western system of prisons, police organizations, administrative and legal hierarchies for social control - and the growth of disciplinary society as a whole. He also reveals that between school, factories, barracks and hospitals all share a common organization, in which it is possible to control the use of an individual's time and space hour by hour.

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About the Author

Michel Foucalt (1926-84) was one of the leading intellectuals of the twentieth century and the most prominent thinker in post-war France. Foucault's work influenced disciplines as diverse as history, sociology, philosophy, sociology and literary criticism.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin (25 April 1991)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 014013722X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140137224
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 2 x 19.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 352,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 318 in Punishment
- 463 in Carl Jung
- 1,586 in Western Philosophy

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4.7 1,193 ratings

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Michel Foucault
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One of the leading intellectuals of the twentieth century and the most prominent thinker in post-war France, Foucault's work influenced disciplines as diverse as history, sociology, philosophy, sociology and literary criticism.
Michel Foucault (1926–1984) was a French historian and philosopher associated with the structuralist and poststructuralist movements. He is often considered the most influential social theorist of the second half of the twentieth century, not only in philosophy but in a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Among his most notable books are Madness and Civilization, Discipline and Punish, and The History of Sexuality.
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Alan Sheridan
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Alan Sheridan (1934 - 2015) was the author of Andrée Gide: A Life in the Present. He translated works by Jean-Paul Sartre, Jacques Lacan, Michel Foucault, Jean Lacouture and Alain Robbe-Grillet.
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Yvonne Jennings

Need quotes for Degree/Masters on witchcraft? You need this.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 April 2021

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I got this (Kindle version) to help with information for my Postgrad Masters. I’m doing Visual Arts/Fine Art and my subject is Witchcraft and looking specifically at the Witch trials of the 1600’s. Skip the parts about prisons and get to the punishments and tortures, which are particularly relevant to how witches were treated to get confessions and their subsequent mode of death. I’m not even half way through and have so many great quotes.

2 people found this helpful

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The Big Kahuna

Whoa!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 April 2013

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Thanks to Mr Focault I am now able to both discipline and punish any body who so comes with in a mile of me. With plenty of illustrative case studies and accessible analysis I have been able to rig up a servicable panopticon in my shed. I can now observe and organise with the minimum of fuss my neighbours use of their own gardens. It all works because they have come to accept my all seeing eye.

8 people found this helpful

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J. B. Hornby

Insightful and informative.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 October 2018

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Quite possibly one of the best books I have ever read. Not an easy read, but kept my mind occupied whilst lounging on a sunbed in Tenerife. A must-read for anyone interested in prisons, education, prison reform.

8 people found this helpful

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San Patch

Must-read social science

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 April 2013

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Michel Foucault was one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century - and rightly so. In 'Discipline and Punish', he examines the rise of the prison system in France. He argues that in the Middle Ages punishment was a public spectacle (the book begins with a detailed account of the gruesome execution of Damiens the regicide in Paris 1757). However, in the period of the Enlightenment - especially in Post Revolutionary France - punishment took on a more 'scientific' form. .

Ostensibly, the prison system that was then created sought not only punitive redress for crime, but also became a way to reform the criminal. In the process, the prison system built an entire rationale with prison guards, administrators, scientists, magistrate who regulated - often by the hour - the daily life of the prisoner.

Foucault argues that this systematic ordering of the prison system reflects broader patterns in Western institutions such as schools and hospitals. These patterns are embedded in the relationship between power and knowledge. These institutions are taken over by the need for power (presumably of elites?) In the process, these institutions create knowledge about their subjects (prisoners, workers, students?) which serve the interests of the powerful.

Foucault's thesis is a skillful critique of objectivist conceptions of knowledge. Knowledge - created by actors such as consultants, academics etc. in the modern world - is hardly neutral. Instead, it is wedded to the needs of the powerful even if the actors are not aware of it. One may argue whether all fields of knowledge are equally culpable, however, Foucault's critique challenges social scientists to be reflexive; to be aware of the roles that their work may play in furthering the interests of power.

Foucault's thought draws on Nietzschean conceptions of power and Marxian notions of class struggle. Yet, Foucault avoids the eschatological pronouncements of the latter. His critical insight into the interdependence of power and knowledge has permeated the social sciences and influenced scholars such Edward Said (Orientalism) to develop post-colonial theory. As a management scholar, I appreciate Foucault's trenchant analysis of knowledge and power. Furthermore, I admire his erudition and intellectual élan. Discipline and Punish is a must-read for critical social scientists. As such, it deserves four stars.

7 people found this helpful

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Vasileios Georgiou

A great addition to knowledge and anyone who is interested in ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 July 2016

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Difficult to understand but the way Foucault explains the shift from body torture to soul torture is one of a kind. A great addition to knowledge and anyone who is interested in becoming a social researcher! Highly recommended!

8 people found this helpful

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joseph McAuley-Lartey

Good book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 February 2019

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Very interesting book. It was one of my university subjects core book

2 people found this helpful

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K. Bond

MUST READ!!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2013

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A brilliant, classic book for anyone interested in the new penality and the birth of the modern prison system. Ideal for criminology, criminal justice or social policy students.

8 people found this helpful

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Joshua

Great study book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 January 2020

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Great book

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Scott

The history of how prison happened

Reviewed in the United States on 18 January 2024

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The French did not always have prisons, so where did they come from, and what is their purpose?

Richard Elendu

Exactly what I expected

Reviewed in Canada on 30 January 2022

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Exactly what I expected

Becky H

Sehr informativ

Reviewed in Germany on 16 July 2023

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Wunderschönes Cover und ein sehr interessantes Buch! Sowhol als private Lektüre als auch für die Uni sehr bereichernd gewesen. Es gibt philosophische, soziologische, historische und auch architektonische Einblicke in das System!

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F

Possibly Foucault's best work.

Reviewed in Italy on 2 August 2023

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Recommended.

Pablo

Libro imprescindible

Reviewed in Spain on 16 March 2018

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LIBRO imprescindible para los estudiantes de sociología, filosofía o ciencias políticas y comprender el actual sistema penintenciario occidental. Gran autor

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Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison Paperback – 25 April 1991

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