Skip to content
The Panopticon episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 17, 2020 · 17 MIN

The Panopticon

from let's THiNK about it · host Ryder Richards, jonathan whitfill, lisa smith

After discussing the social contract and the balance of "Freedom From/Freedom To" Ryder looks at another form of social power dynamics that stem from ideological prison design, grow into institutional and workplace behavior modification, and eventually spread to the public internalizing self discipline and punishment, and participating not only in surveilling other citizens, but directing their gaze and attention to re-affirm and verify the authority of the state. This episode introduces Jeremy Benthem's prison design, a limited version of Michel Foucault's ideas from both Discipline & Punish and Power/Knowledge texts, as well as a brief extrapolation of Tony Bennett's "exhibitionary control." The Will to DIY has a list of links and commentary: https://thewilltodiy.com/step-13-the-panopticon/ Many thanks to Mistah Lisa and Jonathan Whitfill. 1:40 Benthem: Guarding prisoners with "visible, but unverifiable power" 4:11 Foucault: Our escaped prisoner walks into a real bar, and gets committed to an asylum. 6:56 The manager's "surveillance discourse" instills "normative behavior" 9:00 The Reflective Intelligence Meter: measure your intelligence now! 11:42 Our escaped prisoner escapes the asylum, and is declared a "genius" in the art world for pointing his eyeballs.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 17, 2020

Embed this episode

Prison design as a discipline system, expanded to social control through the workplace, and outward into public self-discipline through exhibitionary control. A stroll from Benthem to Foucault to Bennett.

Distinct summary based on available episode metadata or transcript content.

Ready to play

The Panopticon

0:00 17:26

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of let's THiNK about it?

This episode is 17 minutes long.

When was this let's THiNK about it episode published?

This episode was published on July 17, 2020.

Can I download this let's THiNK about it episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!