"...It was forbidden to waste time, which was counted by God and paid for by men; the time-table was to eliminate the danger of wasting it-a moral offense and economic dishonestly. Discipline...poses the princible of a theoretically ever-growing use of time: exhaustion rather than use; it is a question of extracting, from time, ever more available moments and, from each moment, ever more useful forces."- pg 154 Discipline
Time is of the essence. To waste it is a sin. But what is wasting time? This reading has a lot to say about training the body and using the body as a tool. Discipline decides how the body should be positioned at any particular time, such as when writing, or walking, and everything is fashioned so that it can be more efficiently-first on the individual level-and every individual uses the same methods-and then on the collective level-where use of the same methods combines the individual components into one larger body. But again, what is wasting time? Here, in this quote, there is not only a danger wasting it, but of not squeezing the most out of time. It is not enough to use time, but one has to be exhausted by it...and only then do they that they have not wasted time.
I was working in the PAC last night and got to watch Woven Harmony. Did anyone go? They are a couple-Robert is a classical guitarist and Rebecca is a weaver, and what they do on stage is really interesting. She talks, mostly about art, and he plays guitar. I couldn't help but write down some notes of what she said. And while I do think discipline is beneficial to a degree, the kind of discipline that Foucault talks about lacks a creative aspect and, "Creativity is the currency of the 21st century." It's not a waste of time to do things that are undisciplined-to go for a walk and just observe, to sit and think, or just sit and not think, to sleep, to relax and not do something exhausting. Of course, one should maintain a balance (which in a sense, is to be discliplined)but I think that "idleness" is a bit underrated. (not that I'm promoting laziness)But there's a difference between looking and really seeing, and I think that one needs to step away from chasing discipline sometimes in order to be able to just see...because seeing happens naturally.
Students at Sherman Institute, 1919. Courtesy Sherman Indian High School, Riverside CA.
1 comment:
Great selection from Foucault. And an interesting response. From the perspective he offers, the various applications of the internet and mobile phones could be viewed as devices that extend discipline into parts of our lives it did not have access to before. It is not just the ability to track us through these technologies that is the greatest assertion of power; it is rather our willing reconstruction of ourselves around them--extracting "ever more" productivity from our time--that is the most effectual assertion of power. So your defense of "wasting time" would probably get Foucault's complete sympathy, but I think the response would partly point ou that the fact you feel idle time is under-rated suggests a defensive posture in response to power and its pressures upon your perception of "ought."
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