Introduction
The power/knowledge couplet emerges from the work of French philosopher Michel Foucault and reflects his radical notion that systems of knowledge and operations of power are mutually co-constitutive and “directly imply one another” (Foucault, 1979, p. 27). This contention involves a fundamental redefinition of traditional conceptions of both power and knowledge.
Definition
Through a series of historical analyses, Foucault proposed a radical reworking of traditional conceptions of both power and knowledge (see Traditional Debates below) and argued that power must be conceptualized as having a productive function, that it in fact constitutes an entire productive network running through society, and that mechanisms of power cannot be dissociated from the production of knowledge.
This reconceptualization of both power and knowledge and the examination of their mutual effects led Foucault to use power/knowledge as a new term – a couplet signifying their fundamental...
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References
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Online Resources
The Foucault Habermas debate. http://flyvbjerg.plan.aau.dk/CIVSOC5%200PRINTBJS.pdf
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Yates, S. (2014). Power-Knowledge. In: Teo, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_438
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