--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How could the disciplines and the power…" description: "\"“How could the disciplines and the power that functions in them appear arbitrary, when they merely operate the mechanisms of justice itself, even with ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/michel-foucault-1134_arbitrary_how-could-the-disciplines-and-the-power_217274.jpg" --- # How could the disciplines and the power that functions in… ![“How could the disciplines and the power that functions in them appear arbitrary, when they merely operate the mechanisms of justice itself, even with a view to mitigating their intensity?” quote by Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/michel-foucault-1134_arbitrary_how-could-the-disciplines-and-the-power_217274.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/michel-foucault-1134_arbitrary_how-could-the-disciplines-and-the-power_217274.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/michel-foucault-1134_arbitrary_how-could-the-disciplines-and-the-power_217274.jpg) > ““How could the disciplines and the power that functions in them appear arbitrary, when they merely operate the mechanisms of justice itself, even with a view to mitigating their intensity?”” [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Discipline appears arbitrary but actually enforces justice mechanisms, even when intended to lessen harshness. **In simple terms:** Discipline masks its role in justice. Key Takeaway Question the hidden purposes behind rules. Themes power justice discipline arbitrariness Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - legal systems - educational institutions - workplace policies - penal codes Key Concepts structuralism social control Questions to Reflect On - What rules feel arbitrary yet claim fairness? - How might discipline be reformed to be transparent? A Different Perspective Discipline can be used to conceal power dynamics rather than truly mitigate harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arbitrary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbitrary/) [Arbitrary Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arbitrary-merely-2228458/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Disciplines Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disciplines-power-2228459/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Justice View](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice-view-912752/) [Mechanisms Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mechanisms-justice-2228457/) ## Related quotes > [I have ever had the single aim of justice in view. No judge who is influenced by any other consideration is fit for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-parker/i-have-ever-had-the-single-aim-of-justice-in-view-no-judge-who-is/) [Isaac Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-parker/) > [“when we talk about justice, we have to, in my view, understand that there is no justice when so few have so much and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/when-we-talk-about-justice-we-have-to-in-my-view-understand-that/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [When man deploys the arbitrary nature of his madness, he confronts the dark necessity of the world; the animal that haunts his nightmares and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/when-man-deploys-the-arbitrary-nature-of-his-madness-he-confronts-the/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [We must uncover our rituals for what they are: completely arbitrary things, tied to our bourgeois way of life; it isgood-and that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/we-must-uncover-our-rituals-for-what-they-are-completely-arbitrary/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [There is something on earth greater than arbitrary or despotic power. 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We know 'as a result of more than three thousand years of experience that Myrrh and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-preferred-medications-were-those-that-forestalled-corruption-we/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“The man described for us, whom we are invited to free, is already in himself the effect of a subjection much more profound than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-man-described-for-us-whom-we-are-invited-to-free-is-already-in/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“Confined on the ship, from which there is no escape, the madman is delivered to the river with its thousand arms, the sea with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/confined-on-the-ship-from-which-there-is-no-escape-the-madman-is/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Believe what is productive is not sedentary but nomadic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/believe-what-is-productive-is-not-sedentary-but-nomadic/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Are the prisons overpopulated, or is the population over-imprisoned ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/are-the-prisons-overpopulated-or-is-the-population-over-imprisoned/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [An American professor complained that a crypto-Marxist like me was invited in the USA, and I was denounced by the press in Eastern European…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/an-american-professor-complained-that-a-crypto-marxist-like-me-was/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Withdraw allegiance from the old categories of the Negative (law, limit, castration, lack, lacuna), which the Western thought has so long held sacred as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/withdraw-allegiance-from-the-old-categories-of-the-negative-law-limit/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) [Explore all 272 Michel Foucault quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) ## More Arbitrary quotes > [It is irresponsible to set an arbitrary cap on how much therapy a Medicare beneficiary can receive. 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