Foucault’s phrase encrypts a series of truths and the act of deciphering it could represent a pathway, a pathway in which something could be given to you, in the form of pieces of truth. “I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am.” Foucault refuses to identify himself, to define himself,
Our lives matter too
Conflict doesn’t always involve violence, they say, but little disagreements do escalate very quickly. The statement that, “If there’s no conflict, there are no stories worth telling”, really threw me a curve. Life is beautiful, and every day that is worth living gives us a story that is worth telling. It doesn’t take conflict that
What we need to ask ourselves
In the beginning, he was cherubic as most babies tend to be. At eight, he started singing lessons, sang in the church choir and contemplated becoming a priest. When he was eighteen, he went to study fine art in Vienna; pursuing a growing passion for architecture and music. He loved Wagner so much that he
The Compelling Nature of Conflict
What makes a story worth your while? Ask ten different people and you’ll likely get ten different answers, because the criteria itself is so entirely subjective. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes, their own experiences, and their own opinion on everything – including other people’s opinions. Not only will each person have their own
The ‘Apathy Issue’ and Faster Horses
2398, New York ‘We have to do something! The situation is grave. They have everything, and they don’t want anything more. They are bored because they have no motivation for life. What can we still sell them? What can we sell to people who literally have everything? Look out of the window, misters, and misses!
Self-Awareness First
Indeed, the notion establishing one and becoming a better person than what you are is very important in this day and age than ever before. However, self-knowledge and self-realization are crucial part of developing an individual. Most importantly they are the determinates to achieving success. Self-knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement, it is the foundation
Camouflage
“I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life is to become someone else which you were not in the beginning.” – Michel Foucault. The first thing that came to my mind reading Michel Foucault’s quote is the chameleon. It instantly takes up the colour of
Humans Are Changing
Is it necessary to know exactly what you are? 24 out of 25 of my colleagues, friends, and students responded with a nod. One said, in order for me to know what move should I take, I should know first where my starting point is. For me, I would be a hypocrite if I said
Foucault and Educational Transformation
In the United States, there is still a subtle stigma about attending college at an untraditional, older age. Tell someone you’re in college as an undergraduate in your mid-twenties and older and a quick flicker flashes in their eyes, or sometimes an eyebrow raises briefly, or a low murmur hums out before they manage to
Do Not Be Yourself
Michel Foucault’s biographies often classify him as a French philosopher, historian, psychologist, and Marxist. When he was inquired about what he was, later in life, he responded with these words: “I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else
Buddhism, Hate, Politics and Love
It’s interesting to think about love. Love is one of the most widely thought of and discussed words in today’s age and time. Many people say, God is love, and many other things of the sort. However, it’s interesting to go about it and discuss it in an analytical way, does love truly govern reality?
Tender-Hearted and Hard-Hearted We Are
This high school friend of mine, who served in the Gulf and Afghanistan wars told me in our mid-30s, “I love conflict.” Our friendship and beer times together ended a couple of years after. He would repeatedly mention that statement without incitement. We are now in our late 40s and saw each other at a
Fears of Becoming a Non-Person
Bravo to Mister Foucault for possessing such a positive trajectory in life; to be able to feel with conviction that he was transforming from one thing into another. On the contrary, at some indeterminate point in my early-to-mid-twenties, my brain began to malfunction, causing me to develop a fear of becoming a non-person, or unbecoming
The Contender Blues
Each individual the competes in a race is focused on keeping a tempo. No matter what our social demographic may be, our jobs, neighborhoods, education levels, and smartphones give us a sense of position. Idyllically, these names, brands, and titles are how we present ourselves and our self-regard to society. Society itself gets comfortable in
Photographs: We Are All Humans Becoming
The appeal of photographs is simple: life is always changing but a picture remains the same. The jolt of excitement that runs through a person urging them to take a photo is the same jolt that pushes us forward in life. We only feel the need to capture that which feels fleeting. It is the
Exploring The Horizons of One’s Self – Without Being Lost
“I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning.” – Michel Foucault To become someone else that you were not in the beginning… That sounds like a genuine life challenge. Indeed, isn’t
Conflicts – The Necessary Ripples in Life
Let me ask you all a few questions. Have you ever been in a scenario where everything is just perfect? Can you think of events in your life where there has been only happiness, joy, peace and tons of laughter? Is it possible for you and your partner or sibling or any friend to think
Honesty Per Square Foot
“I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning.” – Michel Foucault. I was a studious and straightforward girl when I came to the USA. However, I realised that I am a
Beyond the Horses
To take what is known and improve upon it requires an inventive spirit. To take what is known and manipulate it into something completely different, perhaps frightening in its newness, requires a visionary. The inventors, the artists, the innovators – these creative minds give birth to something never before seen, something seemingly impossible, which has
A Brief Article on the Apocryphal Henry Ford
This quotation is frequently attributed to the American inventor Henry Ford: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” However, little evidence exists which demonstrates that Ford actually uttered this markedly cynical consumer insight. Additionally, it is not essential whether this epigraph is a misquotation, mimesis, apocryphal statement or