Writing is an act of self discipline and meditation that can fortify the soul. Foucault writes, “writing about inner impulses appears…as a weapon in spiritual combat…. by bringing to light the impulses of thought, it dispels the darkness where the enemy’s plots are hatched”(1). When an individual writes, they are turning their fluid ideas into concrete words which makes the individual reflect on those thoughts. Writing is an act of self discipline, because it makes you stop to correct sinful ideas. If you can’t gather yourself to write foul notions, then you wouldn’t say them aloud either. It is a circular meditation process that causes one to think, write, reread, and think again as to what those words on the page mean and doing so, it cleanses the soul by halting the entertainment of sinful thoughts.
Self Writing
Square
I picked up on this part of Foucault’s piece, too. Is this Foucault’s analysis of writing or is he providing a genealogy of how writing has been used in the past? It seems kind of old-fashioned for it to not be a historical account of how writing used to be used.
I also really noticed this part of the piece and I liked it. I Holly makes a good point though too! It’s not something I really thought about at first, but it is an interesting point to think about.