Foucault and the examination: a reading of ‘Truth and Judicial Forms’

The recent publication of key lectures given by Michel Foucault helps clarify the concept of biopolitics, and illustrates its differences with disciplinary power. It appears however that many works written by Foucault in the early 1970s point to the similarities between these two technologies of power. In particular, in a series of lectures presented in 1973 entitled Truth and Judicial Forms, Foucault presents the technique of the examination, and argues that it is at the heart of the modern, technological manifestation of power over life. This article considers the genealogy of the examination presented by Foucault in these lectures, and argues that the study of contemporary manifestations of power must begin with this technique.