The Panopticon - Research

The Panopticon was an architectural design for a prison. It was developed initially by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832) in the late eighteenth century. The principle of the Panopticon was that prisoners could be observed night and day, without realizing that they were being observed. The structure consisted of tiers of prison cells, arranged in a circular design. In the very centre of the circular structure was an observation tower, tall enough for the observer to be able to see the interior of each cell. The windows of the observation tower were masked so that it was not possible for prisoners to know if anyone was in the tower. An arrangement of blinds was suggested to hide the presence of any lights inside, so that prisoners could not guess whether the observation tower was staffed. The psychology of the Panopticon was thus that prisoners would never be certain whether or not they were being observed. The Panopticon later became the inspiration for a number of different prison designs. Its significance for Foucault was that it reflected much of the philosophy of observation that has become a guiding principle of policing in the modern state. The use of video cameras both in cities and on roads employs the same principle of observation, so that the citizen is never entirely sure whether or not they are being watched. 

 Bentham believed that the Panopticon was ‘a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind’ and that it could be used to stop torture and introduce redemption and rehabilitation. But for Michael Foucault (1975: ‘Discipline and Punish’) the Panopticon is a scheme that cultivates links between historical, political and social ideology of social control and resistance. 

In concrete structural form, the Panopticon (Jeremy Bentham) is a social model for institutional orders such as prisons, schools, factories, hospitals and most recently office environments. In its metaphoric form, the Panopticon, as Foucault explains works “to induce in the inmate to a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power.” (Foucault 1977:205) (Discipline and Punish 1975)

The whole idea of the panopticon :

Part of human nature is to feel ‘part of’ society and to therefore attempt to survive in society; whether it is of an elitist nature or within a working class environment. The fear of abandonment from society allows for Bentham’s idea to work. In the 17th century the importance of labor and ‘worth’ to society began to emerge, and society began to see madness as a threat to the structure of society.  ‘Houses of Correction’ (HOC) emerged, as a combination of workhouse and prison, in which the ‘mad’, homeless, criminals, unemployed and single mothers were put into together. These people were forced to work in the Houses of Correction, in a way to make them combat their ‘unproductivity’. HOC’s however, soon began to be seen as a mistake, as it was assumed the different categories of people inhabiting them were corrupting each other.  Attitudes then changed from forcing the unproductive by physically labor, to the idea of ‘reforming’ them mentally. Institutions then came about to ‘reform’ these people, such as asylums, schools and prisons. Then emerged disciplinary society and disciplinary power.  Foucault refers to this as ‘panopticism’.

This disciplinary punishment was based around mental discipline rather than physical forms. These mental punishments aimed to make the offenders more ‘useful’ to society.