The Power of Observation Essay Example for Free

The Power of Observation Essay The power of sight and observation are two actions that are generally associated with one another. However, what we fail to acknowledge is that these two actions, although associated with the same sense, have different responsibilities to fulfill. Although seeing is a habitual act we perform the second we open our eyes to when we fall asleep, we are not always observing our surroundings. Observation differs from sight due to the fact that when we observe, we are vividly noticing aspects of something or someone in order to gain information whereas sight is simply the faculty, or driving force, of seeing. We are able to obtain more powerful knowledge if we go about our days observing rather than just living a life full of brief sights. Michel Foucault, a French philosopher explores several elements in the ways in which our humanity and social sciences work. In his work, Discipline and Punishment: The Birth of the Prison he uses Jeremy Bentham’s design for a panoptic prison in which prisoners are watched constantly to explore how observation can change an individual’s behavior. Similarly Foucault believed, observation works as a disciplinary tool that forces individuals to act a certain way under constant surveillance, creating permanent effects. Foucault was correct in the sense that surveillance works in the same manner continuously within our society however, although an individual’s behavior is altered by the observation of another person, he is wrong to believe that their actions remain static. An individual’s behavior can be altered in several different circumstances due to the type of audience and the fear of being misjudged. Foucault explores the concept of a prison imagined by Jeremy Bentham called the Panopticon. The Panopticon was initially created to establish discipline and â€Å"to induce in the inmate and state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power. So to arrange things that the surveillance is permanent in its effects even if it is discontinuous in its action.† (288) The idea that the tower is located centrally is important in order to see all of the prisoners. However, what truly exercises the power of observation is that they feel they are constantly under surveillance even if no one is utilizing it in the panopticon. The prisoner is constantly â€Å"seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information, never the subject in communication.† (287) Foucault believed that anyone could obtain this power simply by remaining invisible in this tower and their â€Å"invisibility [was] a guarantee of order† and that this power could be mobilized in institutions such as schools, hospitals, and prisons as long as observation was intact. (287) Furthermore, what gives the observer absolute potency is the fear the prisoners have that they will be punished for acting incorrectly in the eyes of the observer as well as being mislabeled. Foucault extended his theory by observing that not only would the power of observation work inside the walls of the prison but that â€Å"on the whole, therefore, one can speak of the formation of a disciplinary society in this movement that stretched from the enclosed disciplines, a sort of social quarantine.† (300) By taking the idea of the Panopticon and stretching the power outwards, we would be creating â€Å"useful individuals† who ultimately mask themselves to behaving a certain way in public. While Foucault believed that our masked identities consisted of only one side, he failed to acknowledge that within society there are different views of what one considers to be a â€Å"useful individual.† There are several different groups within the community that we can be a part of, ultimately giving us several different masks we can put on. In order to be seen positively in the eyes of each individual group we must become that â€Å"useful individual† they believe in. As seen in Foucault’s Panopticism, the labels given to us by society automatically brand us and we are required to fulfill a type of role or expectation based on the title given to us. The labels given to us are assigned because of how an individual perceives us whether they are based off of appearance or our actions. Unlike the Panopticon, there is not just one central tower that has an observer watching us but rather the people we pass on the street have the power to observe as well. There is no longer just one observer who has the central power but several people who can watch our every move and perceive us in certain ways. As Foucault states the â€Å"power of spectacle† still maintains the same effect and â€Å"our society is one not of spectacle, but of surveillance.† (301) However with all this surveillance, â€Å"his ‘true’ name, his ‘true’ place, his ‘true’ body† starts to be defined; thus the formation of labels. (284) The pressure to behave accordingly has increased because we are constantly under the surveillance of society and having our every move be recorded and observed. Furthermore, while those surrounding us have the power to observe, as individuals we begin to take in those around us and begin to judge them as well. Nevertheless, it is not the label that first defines us, it is the observer. They are the ones who have the initial power to influence our actions simply by feeling as though those around us are judging us. Once we are branded into our label, we feel obligated to act these different roles and put on several different masks in order to please those around us who are associated in our group. As individuals we constantly feel the need to be accepted into a group and are highly concerned with how we are being perceived, especially if we do not know the people observing us. The gaze that has the strongest influence on our actions is the gaze of a stranger. Although we may not personally know those who pass us on the street and surround us a majority of the time, these are the observers we fear most because we worry about the way they are perceiving us. We constantly care about how we will be perceived even if we do not know those forming opinions on us because we were designed to feel the need to be socially accepted. The feeling that a strangers â€Å"gaze is everywhere† compels us to do what we feel those around us consider to be socially acceptable. We are most restricted in public places because as Foucault states the power of observation â€Å"reaches the threshold of a discipline when the relation of the one to the other becomes favorable.† (304) For instance, when I am in public I certainly do not sing songs that play on my iPod because I fear what those around me will think about what type of person I am; perhaps I will receive a reputation for being known as the weird girl who sings to herself. Once we start to care more about what those around us see in ourselves we become a prisoner of their examination, behaving in ways that those around us do. We never become comfortable when surrounded by several strangers because we will never know what their opinions of us are. Authority figures such as professors, officers and adults, also have a great deal of control over our actions. Unlike the stranger we encounter and never get to know, these authority figures are people we interact with on several occasions and generally reappear in our daily lives. When first interacting with these people who possess authority over ourselves, we generally want to make a good impression and desire to be in their good graces because we feel they have the power over us. Figures such as professors, adults and even the police officers Foucault addresses are members who are associated within this group. These authority figures work in the same manner as the traditional panoptic situation where we are constantly aware of how we are being observed and put on a lasting mask of how to behave in front of them. However, what alters our comfort between a stranger and an authority figures’ gaze is that we have the opportunity to become comfortable with those who have authority. As we encounter those authority figures on a daily basis, we begin to form a comfort with the assumed role we are required to fulfill. For instance, when first encountering my professors I felt that I needed to be depicted as the â€Å"perfect student† because I did not know them. Although they are figures where I am under my best behavior, a level of comfort is created as the semester progresses and an appropriate relationship begins to form between my professors and I. It ties together two important elements that while we become more comfortable with those around us, we start to become more of who we are and are able to unveil the many masks we must put on to those we feel most comfortable around. While Foucault argued that family was the first panoptic system we felt most pressured under, the observation of our family and friends are the ones we actually are most comfortable and acquainted with. He may have asserted that we have â€Å"made the family the privileged locus of emergence for the disciplinary question of the normal and the abnormal.† (300) However, while we generally are concerned with what those who are close to us believe, we are able to break the barrier of being a stranger because we know these are the people who are most accepting of the actions we take. These are the people who we in fact feel we can be ourselves around because we spend so much time with them and there is a comfort level within that relationship. These observations being made are so frequently that we are eventually able to take off our masks and be who we truly are. We simply have internalized our behavior, which forces us to be ourselves because we do not fear what judgment will be passed. Although Foucault discusses how institutions are able to exercise the power of observation and the effect on our behaviors, today those observations are beyond the walls of a prison, hospital or school. The eyes of observation follow us everywhere we go, and the most restraining observers are the ones we do not know. By being surrounded by those we are comfortable with, we are able to take off our several masks we are forced to put on while in the community or in front of those we do not know. Unlike Foucault, it is not a matter of surveillance but a matter of who we feel the most comfort with. Works Cited Foucault, Michel. â€Å"Panopticism.† Ways of Reading, 9th Edition. Eds. David Bartholomae and Anthony Petroski. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011 282-309.

The Metamorphosis :: essays research papers

The Metamorphosis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Aside from all of the physical changes that Gregor encountered, his personality also took some major turns. Before this unfortunate transformation occurred, Gregor did not have the best relations with his family. Even though he was pretty much generating all of their income, he didn't have much of a closeness with them, except for his sister. 'With his sister alone he remained intimate'; (796). Gregor did in fact care for his sister so much that he wanted to sent her to study at the Conservatorium, even though it would cost him greatly. But despite these good intentions, Gregor's mother and father frowned upon such ideas. Gregor also was not aware of his family's true financial status, which is iron since he was the one providing for them. His parents seemed to be keeping something from him. Gregor's separation from his family also had to do with his work. Since he had to travel a lot of the time, he just wasn't around that often to spend time with his parents and sister.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Even after Gregor's metamorphosis, many of his attributes remained similar. He still cared most about his work; that was pretty much all he thought about even when he first turned into a bug. 'The next train went at seven o'clock; to catch that he would need to hurry like mad and his samples weren't even packed up, and he himself wasn't feeling particularly fresh and active';(786). He had made up his mind that he would have to catch the train - completely ignoring the fact that he was no longer a human. One other thing he maintained was his relationship with his sister which still stayed the strongest of his family. However, the main difference he encountered was the way his family started to treat him after the metamorphosis. Rather than him avoiding his family, through business or even by spending his time in solitude, his family started to avoid him. They could not even bear the site of him because of his hideous appearance.

Hopi Indians Essay

This ethnography will examine the way of life and the cultures and traditions of the Hopi Indians, with the primary intention of providing the reader with the information and facts that would be needed to develop a greater understanding this ethnic community, an understanding and comprehension of how another person lives, considered vital today. The Hopi Indians are an ethnic people, perhaps the descendants of the Aztecs of Mexico, and directly related to the Anasazi. This ethnic group of people lives in Northeast Arizona near the Black Mesa. These are peaceable and wise people, whose very name indicates ‘the peaceable people’. This research will examine these prejudices as well, and reach a conclusion. The misconceptions and prejudices that the author harbored before starting this research: This author was indeed a little apprehensive about choosing this group for this ethnography research, because the author had formed an opinion that these people would be completely uncivilized and perhaps unclean as well, even if he or she is well aware that these are plain prejudices and labeling exercises, brought on by years of ethnic ignorance and a lack of awareness of other peoples and their cultures. The research questions that were brought to the study at the outset: These are the questions that the author of this research brought to mind at the beginning of the ethnographic research: Who are the Hopis? What do they do? What is their culture and what are their traditions? Do they still follow these traditions, and how have they managed to survive as an ethnic group through these years, and does modern man understand them, or has modern man ever made a serious and concerted effort at understanding these people who have lived amongst the people of the rest of the world, earning their own living and managing to hold on to their age old customs and methods, including the way in which they make their jewelry, their pottery, and their agricultural methods? The Questions that enquire into the simplistic lifestyle of the Hopi Indians, and delve into a comparison of this traditional lifestyle with the newer more materialistic one of today: This author wished to ask these questions and seek answers to them through this ethnographic research on the Hopi Indians: How did the Hopis manage to survive a simplistic lifestyle such as theirs, despite the changes and diversification that took place around them? How can such a simplistic lifestyle be compared to the materialistic lifestyle of the people of today? Purpose of the Ethnography: In general, people have always been interested in this group of people, perhaps because of the numerous stories one may have heard over the years about the Aztecs and their heroic exploits. This research will perhaps provide one with answers to questions about the simple Hopi people who inhabit a part of Arizona and who follow their own culture and tradition, and who live life on their own terms, in spite of the fact that the world in which they live has been overtaken with several kinds of changes and is today truly global in every sense of the word. Why were the Hopi Indians chosen as the subject of the research: One can hope that through this research, one would be able to successfully overcome these misconceptions; pre conceived notions and prejudices and move on to become a productive and unbiased member of the increasingly globalized world of today. The uniqueness of the Hopi Indians, and its members: It was when the research on the Hopis was started that one could arrive at the realization that today there are twelve Hopi villages, each with its own village chief, who is an individual responsible for the welfare and well being of the people under him. The Hopi Indians within their villages have managed to maintain very well the balance required of them to keep up with the prevalent Euro-American culture, while at the same time never letting go of the cultures and traditions that form a part and parcel of their ethnic identity. (â€Å"Hopi Civilization† n. d) The Hopi Indians are known for their unique agricultural methods, making them some of the most well known ‘dry farmers’ of the world, even today. (â€Å"Hopi†) Discussion: At this point it is worth mentioning the interesting Hopi traditions that have fascinated man in general from the time he first started to know about them. For example, the Hopi Indians believe that man was not created, but was rather generated from the Earth, and that he emerged from the ‘sipapu’, or what is better known to us as the Grand Canyon. Although there may be certain prominent clan leaders, the number of supernatural subordinates is virtually unlimited, and these are known as ‘kachinas’. They possess supernatural powers, and in the Hopis believe in ensuring their luck by wearing amulets and charms. Although it is possible to understand their need for rituals to bring good luck, it is a unanimous opinion that it may indeed be difficult for the modern cultures of today to understand the need for superstitions and mystic religious ceremonies that the Hopis indulge in to ensure good health and luck in their daily activities. (â€Å"Hopi Indian Tribal History† 2009) For the Hopi Indians, the priest is often considered to be the ‘ideal manifestation of the balanced mentality†¦fairly typical of the Pueblo Indians (Hultkrantz, Ake) Religion plays a very important role in these so called ‘primitive’ peoples’ lives; perhaps they fear the deceased more than death in itself, and these people believed strongly in life after death. The Hopis also believe that when the body lies asleep, the soul wanders about to far away places, and perhaps even to the land of the dead, and death arrives when the wandering soul happens to be caught in the world of the dead. (Hultkrantz, Ake 1981) The Socio-Economic status of the Hopi Indians: It is indeed fascinating that the Hopi people earned their own money, prompting one to wonder what their value system for money was. This was the reason why a decision was made to ask them these questions: what, according to the Hopis, constituted ‘earning’, and how did they earn their money? It was possible to find out that the Hopis today are more modern than one could fairly expect them to be, and while some of them were Doctors, some were architects, some teachers, and some others were potters and jewelry makers. Traditionally, though, the Hopi Indians have developed a culture that is based on hunting and gathering, and later, horticulture. All the various aspects of their culture, including their religion, their social customs and tradition, and their occupations are interwoven with each other, and this in essence would describe the value these people have for money in general. In my opinion, since money is an integral part of their culture, the Hopis do not have any special attachment to money nor do they value it as the rest of the world may do, unless they have managed to transcend their boundaries and attain a different socio economic status, like for instance earning a degree in a university and going on to become a Doctor. (Dutton, Bertha, Pauline 1983) Most of Hopi life revolves around agriculture, and one could read this statement several times during this research: â€Å"The Hopi way of life is the corn: humility, cooperation, respect, and universal earth stewardship. † (â€Å"Hopi Traditional Knowledge†) Nevertheless, when one mentions the word ‘Hopi Indian’ one automatically visualizes the exquisite pottery and jewelry that these people are able to produce, and when one understands that these crafts have been carried down from on generation to the next, one cannot help but be amazed and astonished at the tenacity of the culture and tradition of these ethnic Indian people. (â€Å"Contemporary Hopi Arts and Crafts†) Research Methods: Primary Sources: In this section the author of this research will detail the interview questions that were used in gathering the data that were required for this project. This author was able to interview Mr. ABC (a member of the Hopi Indian community who is now a teacher and who is married to an American and who lives with his family in the center of town, but still keeps in touch with his family members of the Hopi community) 1. Could you describe the ancestry of the Hopi Indian community for me, please? 2. How did your people settle down in Northeast Arizona near the Black Mesa? Was there a reason, or did it simply happen? 3. Do you and your people still follow any of the old traditions in your community? How do you manage to uphold the traditions that form a part and parcel of your identity as an ethnic group? 4. Do you believe in the integration of the old and the new? How have the Hopi Indians managed to integrate the modern day customs with their older ones? Has this integration been successful at all? 5. Do you feel that other people do not and have never made any attempt to understand your traditions and your culture? Do you feel that it is important, especially in today’s environment for other people to gain an understanding into your traditions and your way of life? 6. What do the Hopi Indians feel about their socio economic status today? 7. What, in the opinion of Hopis, is the value of money? How do the Hopis earn money, and do they place any importance or value on earning more than the neighbor as the others do, or are they content with what they are able to earn doing their chosen jobs? In addition, these sites were referred to for extensive information and reference on the Hopi Indians: Hultkrantz, Ake â€Å"The Religions of the American Indians (1981) Google Book Search Retrieved April 18, 2009 from: This book was examined for firsthand information on the Hopi Indians and their lifestyles Dutton, Bertha, Pauline â€Å"American Indians of the Southwest† (1983) Google Book Search Retrieved April 18, 2009 from: < http://books. google. co. in/books? id=ju-zrFKL4SIC&pg=PA14&dq=hopi+pueblo+indians > This research was examined for firsthand information on the Hopi Indians and their lifestyles â€Å"Contemporary Hopi Arts and Crafts† The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (1997) Retrieved April 18, 2009 from: < http://www. nau. edu/~hcpo-p/arts/index. html > This research was examined for information on the Hopi Indians and their crafts Hopi Traditional Knowledge† The Hopi Cultural Preservation Office (1997) Retrieved April 18, 2009 from:

Christianity And The Christian Church - 1473 Words

Around 2,000 years ago a Jewish child was born in the city of Bethlehem named Jesus Christ. At the time, few were aware of the magnitude of this seemingly mundane event. This child born in a lowly stable, was foretold by many to be the Messiah, the son of God himself, in fulfillment of ancient scripture. Over the next few centuries the life works and teachings of this individual were recorded and spread across the globe, making up the cornerstone of Christ’s most important legacy, Christianity. It is a religion shaped entirely around Jesus’ personal philosophies and ideologies that has forever shaped the course of human history. In order to appreciate the importance of Christianity, first an understanding of the religion itself must be†¦show more content†¦This means that Christians believe that they are ultimately saved by their relationship and belief in Christ. These basic components set the foundation for the comprehensive religion of Christianity. The origins of the Christian religion began almost immediately after Christ’s resurrection. Jesus disciples carried on his legacy and began to convert many of the Jewish faith. At this point, Christianity was originally viewed as just a subset of the Jewish faith, not an entirely separate ideology. Despite this belief by converts, what Jesus’ apostles were teaching was radically different, as they believed that Jesus was the Messiah predicted in Jewish faith. They taught that Jesus had suffered and died for mankind s sins when he was crucified by the Romans. In doing so he saved the world, creating what is now known as Christ’s â€Å"new covenant†. After only a few decades following his death, most of Jesus’ life works and teachings were recorded as the New Testament. These books were spread around and the religion began to grow rapidly. The development of Christianity over the next several hundred years was truly astounding and can be split into roughly four unique periods. The first of these periods is the rise of the Roman Church. Initially, Christians were persecuted relentlessly by the Romans. However in 312 A.D. the Roman Emperor, Constantine, entirely changed Christianity’s place in society. It became the official religion of the Romans and Christian leaders becameShow MoreRelatedHistory of Christianity and the Christian Church603 Words   |  2 Pagesmessage was that through Jesus, God would give pardon to those who trusted and believed him. He also believed that people can begin the process of salvation present in their own life. He spoke of agape. This is unconditional love. He believed all of Christian concern circled around this. Jesus’s teachings are more about the life her and now. 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