Abstract

In this article, I draw attention to a different interpretation of bioethics as biopolitics, which does not appeal to the standard application of political theories to controversial practical issues. My objective is to make several suggestions for approaching bioethics from a Foucauldian perspective. I follow the three stages in Foucault’s intellectual trajectory (with a focus on the genealogy of power) and also analyze the way he reflected upon themes that are part of bioethical issues. The French philosopher is famous for his relentless investigations to uncover insidious forms of power and how scientific discourses can be used to reinforce or restructure social orders, highlighting the dangers of scientism while claiming to overcome the “critique of ideology” approach. Such an analysis is especially needed, as Foucault’s ideas are often linked to the field of bioethics in a rather distorted, incomplete, or fragmentary way, often as secondhand quotations, lacking a thorough and careful study of his understanding of power techniques, the human subject, personal freedom and society, medicine, and sciences of life.