La gouvernementalité au-delà du droit. Agamben à l’épreuve de Foucault

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to compare Agamben’s genealogy of western governmentality with Foucauldian research. Central to this view is the relationship that unfolds in both works between a form of life (the Franciscan regula or the Cynic bios) and power. The category of usus, which for Agamben remains central to the deactivation of law, is also relevant in Les Aveux de la chair, but is included in the “juridification” of conjugal relations from Augustine onwards. In conclusion, the gap between the two perspectives seems to revolve mainly around two issues: truth and law.

Keywords

• governamentality
• form of life
• law
• power
• usus
• monachism