"Caring for oneself" is often used in conjunction with Foucault's later writings, forming a rather charming phrase. The essence of Foucault's "caring for oneself" is actually not "spiritual comfort" or "being kind to oneself" in modern society. Rather, he contemplated the possibility of an alternative positive way of life with the help of descriptions of the ancient Greek way of life in the context of the crisis of modern social norms.
One
This Latin parable is quoted in Heidegger's Being and Time, to the effect that there was a goddess called cura, who, one day, crossed a river, grabbed a piece of earth on a whim, made something, and begged the god Jupiter to give it a soul. When the object was completed, the goddess of labor wanted to give it a name, and the gods of heaven and earth wanted to compete for this "naming right", so all three gods asked Saturn, the god of agriculture, to arbitrate. The god of agriculture believed that this thing should have three genera, the soul belonged to the gods, the body was made of earth, belonged to the earth, and if its spirit and body were to be harmonious, it must belong to the goddess of labor, and named it "man". This story leads Heidegger to think about the nature of "man" as an earthly being: to be human, one must work all his life. However, the Latin counterpart of the word "cura" has several meanings: the first means "care", the second means "healing", and in the current popular Internet term, it is "healing".
As Heidegger's less dogmatic reader, Foucault's discussion of the term "labor" naturally follows the former's lines, but differently. Heidegger's "labor" always has a gloomy color of Christianity. The Bible records that the human body was made of the earth, infused by God into the soul, and after falling into the Garden of Eden, he labored all his life and died of falling out of his shins. Although the word "labor" is not used in this paragraph, the word "labor" is used to highlight the difficulties and difficulties of life. The labor of being a "here-and-now" person not only destroys the physical body, but also makes people suffer in the heart until "there is finally death", and then they can be liberated. However, Foucault was more concerned with the meaning of the so-called "care" in "labor". He also sorted out the etymological changes of the word "labor", but this combing is closely related to his other concept "self". "Caring for oneself" is often used in conjunction with Foucault's later writings, forming a rather charming phrase.
German philosopher Heidegger (Photo courtesy of Visual China)
The French word for "self" is the reflexive pronoun soi, and Foucault used the French word "souci" to translate the Latin word "cura" and extended the origin of this concept to the ancient Greek world. He said that the ancient Greeks also had a term for the expression "caring for oneself", called epimelei heautou, which was no less interesting than the Latin story quoted by Heidegger, but the mood was completely different. epi - this prefix refers to a lot of things: after it, to follow something. "melei" is based on the verb "melos", which originally meant "to sing rhythmically", from which the English word "melody" is derived. And the "heautou" in the back is the ancient Greek word for "this self". Therefore, the literal meaning of this expression is "let yourself sing to the rhythm of others".
From this point of view, "caring for oneself" originally meant to subordinate "oneself" to the guidance and norms of others. However, this kind of guidance and regulation does not necessarily bring about the wear and tear of "one's" body and mental suffering, but allows people to immerse themselves in some kind of rhythm similar to singing and melody, and realize the harmony of body and mind. Later, the word "melei" was derived from a meaning similar to the English word "meditation", but in ancient Greek and Roman times, "contemplation" did not mean to think repeatedly, but an application of thought, simply put, "contemplation" refers to a way of practicing one's thoughts, that is, constantly applying one's thoughts to one's daily life and actions in order to test one's own perfect practice of thoughts. This kind of "contemplation" activity is similar to "rhythmic singing", in which the completeness of singing depends on the repetition of the main melody and rhythm, and the practice and practice of the mind also depends on constant repetition.
Why do we need to constantly impose our thoughts and actions on ourselves in this way? Will this kind of repetitive practice and practice aggravate the boredom of life, and even become the so-called "pyramid scheme" and "brainwashing" of modern people? Foucault really didn't think so. First, in ancient Greco-Roman culture, "caring for oneself" did not mean the sinking of the body in the earthly or social world, but was used as a means of reconciling the relationship between the sublime and superior mind of the soul and the uncontrolled part of the body. Its ultimate goal is to achieve harmony between body and soul. Therefore, effective care for the body ultimately leads to "healing". This is also the important meaning of the Latin word "cura", which corresponds to "labor". Second, "caring for oneself" can reveal the truth behind "oneself", so that one can live a "philosophical life".
Stills from "I Am the Queen".
Foucault argues that in ancient Western societies, there were three philosophical methods: the first was the teaching technique, in which the philosopher obtained the truth through the teachings of others; The second is "caring for oneself", the philosopher's way of grasping the truth by imposing it on himself; The third is spiritual practice, in which philosophers constantly transform their way of life in order to attain the truth they contain. And in these three ways, "caring for yourself" becomes an intermediary and hub for the first and third means of communication. The reason why this is so is because of the third dimension of "caring for oneself": "caring for oneself" cannot be achieved by each person himself, and there are always two dimensions to be appealed to: the first is the relationship between truth and oneself, and the second is the relationship between others and oneself.
As a result, Foucault gradually raised the concept of "caring for oneself" to a higher and higher status in his later years, and even had a tendency to replace the two dimensions of teaching and practice. Foucault found that "caring for oneself" can produce a truth that is entirely different from the one produced by the pedagogical activity, which is a truth that relies on some rational principle to know things. He discusses this issue in terms of the figure of Socrates. Anyone who has studied the ideas of Socrates and Plato knows that Socrates' ideas can be summed up in a single proverb: "Know thyself." The word "knowing" means that one can grasp oneself by means of teaching, just as one grasps the essence of things. However, Foucault believes that "knowing oneself" is a dimension of "caring for oneself" in the philosophy of Socrates and Plato, which narrows the philosophical method of "caring for oneself", thus putting the philosophical culture of ancient society into a crisis when it reached its peak.
"Know thyself" is the proverb of the temple in Delphi, ancient Greece, which also predicted that Socrates was the most intelligent man in the ancient Greek world at that time, and the latter did not believe it, so he asked three recognized intelligent people of the time to verify it: statesmen, poets, and craftsmen. Through verification, he found that these people were not really very clear about the truths they possessed, and even the relationship between themselves and these truths. Of course, Socrates did not know how many definite truths he had, but he at least knew that the first three types of "wise people" knew neither the truth nor the definite truth. So, relying on this "ignorance", he gained a certain "wisdom" that confirmed the prophecy of the temple.
"Know thyself" is one of the three proverbs engraved in the temple of Apollo in the Delphi region of ancient Greece (Photo courtesy of Visual China)
Foucault questioned this understanding. He points out that Socrates did not care so much about the truth or the certainty of it, but that he found an important problem, that these purported truth-seekers did not care about themselves. It is precisely because they do not care about themselves that they take for granted what they have learned as a definite truth. This limits both their search for the truth and their ability to grasp the truth. Socrates, however, constantly forces them to ask themselves questions about whether they have the exact truth. This mobilizes the soul of the person being questioned, which in turn makes the soul constantly examine his own body and actions, so that the interlocutor begins to "care about himself". Secondly, through dialogue and questioning, Socrates also accepts the questioning of others and acquires a lot of knowledge, and his soul also asks about the certainty of these knowledges and verifies them through physical practice, which also mobilizes Socrates' concern for himself. Thus, Socrates opened a new model of "caring for himself". The first feature of this new model is that "caring for yourself" always cares about everyone and everyone.
Two
Of course, Foucault also said that before that, there were already people in ancient Greek society who called on individuals or collectives to "care for themselves". However, this call is always associated with a specific political crisis, such as the ancient Athenian statesman and poet Solon, who always called on the Athenians to "care for themselves" when they were unsure of their political future. However, this concern for "oneself" is always focused on the political interests of "oneself" at a given moment, rather than an enduring concern for the relationship between one's own "soul" and "body", and not only that, but this "concern" is more often addressed to all citizens in the polis than to specific people.
This was not the case with Socrates, who emphasized that each Athenian should "care for himself" rather than the entire Athenian community. Moreover, this concern has nothing to do with specific political situations and specific political interests, but only with the truth embodied in the actions of each person's mind and body. Second, you can't "care about yourself" by relying on yourself alone. Socrates emphasized the need to force you to discover what is your "self" through communication and discussion with another person, and thus turn to an act of searching and practicing truth, allowing the body and soul to become representations and containers of truth. However, the person who compels others to care about himself also speaks the truth in the process of discussion and speech, and eventually goes to the path of practicing the truth. This mutual production of truth is endlessly intertwined in the exchange of languages, until the mind and body of a certain explorer are reconciled and stabilized in truth. For Socrates, who devoted his life to the search for truth, this search lasted until the day he died.
Aristotle teaching Alexander the Great (Photo courtesy of Visual China)
Foucault elaborates on an important act Socrates took before his death, which was to ask his followers to offer a rooster as a sacrifice to Asklêpios, the god of medicine. He points out that this act contains Socrates' understanding of death. Socrates, after calling on the Athenians to care for themselves, ushered in the death sentence of the Athenians; This verdict was a tragedy to others, but a "cure" to Socrates: the Athenians offered the rooster as a sacrifice to the god of medicine only when they were cured of their illness. In the Apology, Socrates points out that he had given a "parrhesia" to the Athenian democrats and aristocratic tyrants, calling them to care for their deeds and souls. However, these efforts failed, Socrates was persecuted several times and was on the verge of death, and the political crisis of the Athenians remained untouched.
Foucault thus pointed out that Socrates' action of forcing others to care about himself was not to solve the political crisis in Athens, as Solon had done before, but to stimulate the Athenians (including Socrates himself) to discover and practice the truth in their own hearts, and finally achieve the goal of healing themselves. Only Socrates practiced this goal and discovered the cure: death. Once a person dies, the boundary between the spiritual and the physical is dissolved, which is actually the ultimate harmony between the two, and the individual has achieved the goal of "caring for himself". This death inherits Heidegger's view that death is a liberation from the labor of a lifetime, but it also has a meaning that Heidegger does not have: to face death carefully, to make it ritualistic, and to treat, repair and perfect life itself.
Stills from "Dim Sum Day at the Lion's House".
This sparked Foucault's discussion of one of the most important aspects of "caring for oneself". What exactly is the so-called "truth in one's own heart"? In Foucault's view, this is a norm of social relations, which Foucault called "ethical relations." The truth of ethical relations is not the same as the truth of natural science in modern society. First of all, this kind of truth is always embodied in a relationship of mutual restraint and transformation established by people in order to explore the truth and the perfection of body and mind, and finally generates the norms to be observed in community interactions.
Second, Foucault emphasized that this norm of revealing truth is not the same rule or law for everyone, but a flexible principle of interpersonal communication established by relying on each person's particular way of life and physical and mental relationships. Not only that, but this kind of norm not only restricts the regulated, but also restricts the norm-maker through the feedback and actions of the regulated, forcing him to adjust the norm.
Finally, this norm of interpersonal interaction does not exist forever, and if the party subject to the norm is unable to do what the norm requires: for example, if he finds that his behavior can no longer bear the truth that the norm is trying to express, he can choose various degrees of withdrawal: no longer contact the other party, back down, or even accept the punishment of failing to fulfill the provisions, and in extreme cases, this punishment is even killed by the other party (Foucault discovered, as recorded in the ancient Greek tragedy). In addition, if the normative constraint party feels that he has temporarily reached a state of physical and mental equilibrium by caring for himself, or has discovered the truth in his mind, he can also withdraw from this interpersonal interaction with the consent of the other party, until he finds himself again in the crisis of confusion and inability to find the truth.
Stills from "Although I'm Mentally Ill, But It's Okay".
Therefore, the essence of Foucault's "caring for oneself" is not actually "spiritual comfort" or "being kind to oneself" in modern society. Rather, he contemplated the possibility of an alternative positive way of life with the help of descriptions of the ancient Greek way of life in the context of the crisis of modern social norms. The norms of global modern society were formed in Western Europe in the 17th ~ 18th centuries, and it contains the following characteristics: first, it is single-centered, always from the center of modern political organization and production organization - national government or company management, and then extended to everyone. Second, it is generally the same for everyone, emphasizing that everyone has equal rights, and that it is necessary to accept equal and even homogeneous legal and moral obligations. Not only that, but it uses the safety of human life as an excuse to force people to accept this homogeneous norm. Finally, this norm does not care about the "soul" or "spirit" of the person, or rather, it always cares about the "soul" or "spirit" of the person from the point of view of the body.
Foucault believes that once "caring for oneself" is the center, this kind of uniform social norm that harms people's physical and mental health will be dissolved, and social relations and social organizations that pursue truth and individual self-improvement will emerge based on the needs of different individuals. People are no longer just concerned with physical safety and happiness, but are trying to explore their mental state and mind-body relationships, shaping a variety of rich and heterogeneous lifestyles. People dare to reveal their secrets and confusion to others, and dare to reveal their true thoughts to power; Out of reverence for the truth and the desire for an active life, those in power are also in awe of the truth and the expressions and demands of each individual. Foucault believed that it was a way of life that dared to take risks for the sake of truth. People no longer sacrifice their pursuit of life for the sake of "small blessings" in life, nor are they bound by the hard nature of life like Heidegger, and they are obedient. "Caring for Yourself" transforms an individual's experience into a dynamic energy that blooms into life, arousing their concern for others, society, and truth, and even if death takes away this life, it also creates the healing of life in self-transformation.
Stills from "The Raising of a Vulgar Girl".
This reminds me of the story of Foucault, who was suffering from AIDS near the end of his life, chatting with a young student who mentioned his many confusions about politics, life, and desires, and Foucault patiently answered and admonished him: Don't be afraid to live, and don't be afraid to die. Yes, "caring for yourself" is the "poison" and "antidote" of contemporary people, but it is not "chicken soup".