Abstract

QUIROGA, María Virginia. Discourses and Subjects. Some Linkages and Tensions Between the Theoretical Perspectives of Michel Foucault and Ernesto Laclau. Estud. Polit. [online]. 2014, n.45, pp.79-94. ISSN 0121-5167.

This paper asks about the possibilities to fit together the theoretical perspectives of Michel Foucault and Ernesto Laclau. With this aim, the article makes a review of their main works, looking for similarities and distinctions, principally around the notions of subject and discourse. Both authors coincide on the assumption that discourses determine the construct of subjectivities. However, they show different conceptions of discourse and, therefore, their identification processes assume specific characteristics. At the same time, the authors emphasize different analytical categories. Thus, while antagonisms and hegemony are keys to Laclau's approach, knowledge, power, and truth are central issues in Foucault's thought. Beyond its peculiarities, these perspectives constitute a central pillar for the critique of essentialist approaches, which display a totalizing and objective view of the social reality.. Moreover, Laclau's and Foucault's perspectives allows us to understand that there are neither natural or true discourses, nor established once and for all.

Keywords : Discurso; Subjetividad; Identidad; Poder; Laclau, Enesto; Foucault, Michel; Discourse; Subject; Identity; Power; Laclau, Enesto; Foucault, Michel.

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