Resumen de Michel Foucault e a obediência da carne Cristã
This article investigates the political dimension of what Michel Foucaultcalls the “experience of the Flesh”based onFrench philosopher’s posthumous major workHistory of Sexuality volume 4, The Confessions of the Flesh (Les Aveux de la chair). In order to do so, the chapter focuses onFoucault’s research on the Christian account of obedience. In particular, the article analyzesthe intimate conceptual interplay between obedience and will in Foucault’s investigation on John Cassian and Saint Augustine. The first part of the article addressesFoucault’smain diagnosis of Cassian’s account of obedience, according to which, in monastic life,perfect obedience requiresthat individuals renounce to their own will. The second part of the article focuses onFoucault’s analysis ofSaint Augustine’stheory of libido,whichshows thatthe condition of obedience, in particular the obedience to the sexual rules, relies on the good use that individuals make of their own will.The conclusions of the article highlight the crucial role of the interplay between obedience and will to understand the form of governmentality built up bythe Christian experience of the Flesh.
