In Discipline and Punish by Michel Foucault, the author shows how over time punishment has changed. Specifically, he notes that punishment has moved away from targeting the body, and instead, now focuses on the soul. This change led to the idea that it was not only important to determine who committed the crime, but also why, as it would give greater insight into the problem, and offer better solutions. As such, I argue that if you follow Foucault’s analysis of how and why punishment changed it will suggest that the correct stance on gun violence in the U.S. is more gun regulations and a more active approach in dealing with mental illness. A crucial element to Foucault’s analysis of punishment is epistemologico-juridical. Epistemologico-juridical
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People soon realized that if individuals were severely punished then they wouldn’t be able to work, effectively creating a hoard of beggars who would add a strain to society. For example, if you cut the hand off a person who steals some bread then that person and society are worse off because that person now unable to work. But, if you instead put them in a correction facility and transform them to match society then it is more likely they will join the newly industrialized workforce and contribute to society. As such, I believe if you examine the current events surrounding gun violence with the same epistemologico-juridical then there is a change in punishment and correction that is …show more content…
Also, last year the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history happened at a Las Vegas concert, which left 58 dead. This violence has caused a massive outcry in the populous with some people believing stricter gun laws need to be put in place and others believe the answer is more guns. Based on Foucault’s analysis of how punishment changed, I believe stricter gun laws is the correct side, but this is only half of the solution. The complete solution will require a willingness to address mental illnesses and understand the “soul” behind those who use gun violence, but first, the reason more guns isn’t the answer is the same as why public executions
People soon realized that if individuals were severely punished then they wouldn’t be able to work, effectively creating a hoard of beggars who would add a strain to society. For example, if you cut the hand off a person who steals some bread then that person and society are worse off because that person now unable to work. But, if you instead put them in a correction facility and transform them to match society then it is more likely they will join the newly industrialized workforce and contribute to society. As such, I believe if you examine the current events surrounding gun violence with the same epistemologico-juridical then there is a change in punishment and correction that is …show more content…
Also, last year the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history happened at a Las Vegas concert, which left 58 dead. This violence has caused a massive outcry in the populous with some people believing stricter gun laws need to be put in place and others believe the answer is more guns. Based on Foucault’s analysis of how punishment changed, I believe stricter gun laws is the correct side, but this is only half of the solution. The complete solution will require a willingness to address mental illnesses and understand the “soul” behind those who use gun violence, but first, the reason more guns isn’t the answer is the same as why public executions