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A Panopticon is a building
structured in a circle with an observation tower in the center surrounded by an
outer wall made up of cells for the incarceration of mental patients or
convicts. The purpose of the design is to increase the security through the
effectiveness of the surveillance. The convict cannot see the other inmates
through the concrete walls and is flooded with light so that everything he does
can be observed by the central tower. To quote Foucault in the "birth of the
prison," "We have seen that anyone may come and exercise in the central tower
the functions of surveillance, and that this being the case, he can gain a clear
idea of the way the surveillance is practiced." In this counterintuitive way the
administration of power becomes decentered, while increasing the efficacy of the
disciplinary mechanism.
In Discipline and Punish, Foucault builds on
the idea of a panopticon as conceptualized by Bentham, and elaborates upon the function of discipline
in the prison, and disciplinary mechanisms in everyday society, as to illustrate
the function of discipline as an apparatus of power.
In Discipline and Punish Foucault discusses
Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon, a functioning
representation of Panopticism. Although this style of architecture could be used
for various institutions, Bentham uses a prison as an example: it is a building
with a tower in the center, from which all the surrounding cells are visible.
The inside of the tower, though, cannot be seen. It individualizes and leaves
them constantly visible; never knowing when they are being observed. The
occupant is always “the object of information, never a subject in
communication.” This type of
design can be used for any population that needs to be kept under observation,
such as: prisoners, schoolchildren, medical patients or workers.
“If the inmates are convicts, there is no danger of a plot, an attempt at
collective escape, the planning of new crimes for the future, bad reciprocal
influences; if they are patients, there is no danger of contagion; if they are
madmen there is no risk of their committing violence upon one another; if they
are schoolchildren, there is no copying, no noise, no chatter, no waste of time;
if they are workers, there are no disorders, no theft, no coalitions, none of
those distractions that slow down the rate of work, make it less perfect or
cause accidents.
By individualizing the subjects and putting them in a state of constant
visibility, the efficiency of the institution is maximized. Furthermore, it
guarantees the function of power, even when there is no one actually asserting
it. It is in this respect that the Panopticon functions automatically. Foucault
goes on to explain that this design is also applicable for a laboratory. Its
mechanisms of individualization and observation give it the capacity to run many
experiments simultaneously. These qualities also give an authoritative figure
the “ability to penetrate men’s behavior” without
difficulty. This is all made possible through architectural design. In light of
this fact Foucault compares jails, schools and factories in their structural
similarities.
A central idea to Foucault’s Panopticism is the systematic ordering and
controlling of human populations through subtle and often unseen forces. This is
apparent in many parts of the modernized world. Modern advances in technology
and surveillance techniques have made Foucault’s theories all the more pertinent
to any scrutiny of the relationship between the state and its population.
Increased surveillance cameras have the effect of reminding us however, of
the little use of "panoptic" mechanisms on the part of liberal democracies. It
could also be argued that increased surveillance technologies are unnecessary in
the face of disciplinary mechanisms as illustrated by Foucault's Panopticism.
Foucault argues that Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon provides us with a
model in which a self-disciplined society has been able to develop. These
apparatuses of behavior control are essential if we are to govern ourselves,
without the constant surveillance and intervention by an agency in every aspect
of our lives.
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