Panopticon

The Panopticon (from Greek παν Pan, 'everything', and οπτικό optiko, belonging to seeing '), also romanized panopticon, is one of the British philosopher and founder of classical utilitarianism, Jeremy Bentham, derived concept for the construction of prisons and similar establishments, but also from plants, which permits the simultaneous monitoring of many people through a single monitor.

The French philosopher of the late 20th century Michel Foucault called this ordering principle as essential to Western liberal societies, which he calls disciplinary societies. In line with this, he developed his concept of panoptism.

Jeremy Bentham's architectural design

All buildings of the Panopticon principle in common is that from a central location from all factory workers or prison inmates can be supervised. The focus is on an observation tower, from which depart from cell wings ( in so-called beam construction). Thus, the guard in the middle view in the cells without the occupant in turn can see the guards. The reason is that the prisoners from the perspective of the guard in the back light are clearly visible, the guard itself, however, in the darkness of its location can not be identified. Consequently, they do not know whether they are being monitored.

From this construction principle, Bentham hoped that all occupants rule compliant at all times under the supervision of pressure behavior (ie avoid deviant behavior ), since they would at any time expect to be observed. This leads in particular through the reduction of the staff to a massive cost-cutting in prison and Manufacturing, because the ratio between effective monitoring of advance work and generated fear of being observed is very high.

Implementation

The Panopticon design, actually designed for overseeing of factory workers, should be realized in 1811 for the first time in a prison building. The project was canceled however, Bentham was compensated for his planning effort two years later with £ 23,000.

The Panopticon idea influenced some prison buildings of the Victorian period. A modification of the principle was that of a central point of all the star-shaped end corridors may be inspected. The penitentiary Pentonville Prison (London), 1811, shows the characteristics of a Panopticon - making. Have star-shaped corridors running and also had the Holloway Prison (London ) Wandsworth (London), Port Arthur (Australia ) and the cells Moabit Prison ( Germany ).

In the Presidio Modelo (Spanish: Model prison ), Cuba, Bentham's design concept is implemented extensively. It was built in 1928 by the dictator Gerardo Machado, closed in 1967 and declared a National Monument. The concept of the panopticon was implemented, among others, in 1925, inaugurated Statesville Correctional Center in the U.S. state of Illinois. More prisons in the sense of Bentham were in Australia (1830 ), Milan ( 1944), Ho Chi Minh City ( 1953) built.

Reception and reflection

Michel Foucault: panoptism

Foucault pointed Bentham's architectural principle in his book Discipline and Punish, symbolizing the organizing principle Western liberal societies (see also panoptism ).

Zygmunt Bauman: Postpanoptikum

Following Foucault, Zygmunt Bauman points out in his book " Fleeting Modern ' at the Panopticon as an example of modern, territorial power. At the same time takes Bauman attempt to show symbolically using the panopticon, that conditions in post-modernity " evaporate " and the power, irrespective of territories, for example by means of electronic signals ( phone, internet, etc.) moves. The present condition of postmodernity he referred to as "post- panoptic ". But it is not only the social field of " delinquency ", which can be characterized as "post- panoptic " within the meaning of Bauman, because everyday life is increasingly controlled by electronic signals. Today there are a variety of surveillance cameras in public places and in shops, but also the daily work is often recognized more or less electronically.

The information theorist Branden Hookway 2000 introduced the concept of a Panspectrons, an evolution of the panopticon to the effect that it does not define an object of monitoring more, but everyone and everything is monitored. The object is defined only in relation to a specific issue.

Fiction and film

In various dystopian novels we find the panopticon principle:

• In George Orwell's 1984 surveillance cameras are installed in all residential, residence and work spaces.
• In Yevgeny Zamyatin's We have the homes of people glass walls.
• In John Twelve Hawks Traveler a secret organization working to build a global monitoring after the panopticon principle.
• In Alan Moore and David Lloyd's V for Vendetta, the action takes place in a camera-controlled state after the panopticon principle.
• In Gordon Dahlquists The Glass Books of the Dream Eater is a repeated allusion to be found on the Panopticon principle, as well as a prison room, which was built after the first plans Jeremy Bentham.
• In the movie Fortress - The fortress has the underground prison Mentel a similar design.