A Brief Genealogy of the Techniques of Power and Control since Michel Foucault to Byung-Chul Han

Abstract

The French philosopher Michel Foucault developed throughout his work a geneology of the techniques of power exercised since, at least, the 17^th century, performing a deep analysis of the function, the origins e the consequences in the subject’s subjectivities of these techniques. Byung-Chul Han, by his turn, immersed in the present, but supported by author that preceded him, among which Foucault, performs an analysis of the techniques of power particulars of the late capitalism of the 21^th  century, particularized, specially, by the new technologies of surveillance and social control, such as big data and algorithms. Thus, the present text performs a joint analysis of the work of both authors aiming to identify the continuity between the techniques of power and control identified by Foucault and, lately, reimagined by Han, with the achievement of an intersection between the work of both of these important author for the thought of social relations thus achieving a more accurate comprehension of the biopolitical control phenomenon in contemporaneity. Thought the present research, we could conclude by the existence of the continuity between the phenomena described by Foucault and those described by Han, been the firsts direct predecessors of the seconds. Therefore, the research methodology used was the hermeneutical-phenomenological and the procedure was the bibliographic.