Between panopticons, Bentham y Han: A (bio)psycho-political approach

Abstract

This essay presents an operational-conceptual analysis of the "Panopticon" model proposed by Jeremy Bentham in its transition process from its initial utilitarian-disciplinary configuration to its current "psycho-political" application directed primarily to the (re) configuration of subjectivities in the "digital age". Contrasting said process at first through the documentary review of letters I to XXI where they are detailed; architectural elements, delimitation of routines, transit spaces and accommodation that allow a behavioral modification based on the repetition and vulnerability of corporality in seclusion. In a second moment, an analysis of the theoretical-pragmatic updating process is made through the proposal of the "Digital Panopticon" raised by Byung-Chul Han in three of his works; In the Swarm, The society of transparency and Psychopolitics. Surveillance, the postmodern imperative "to show oneself" and acceleration update said psycho-corporal modification not by limiting it to confined spaces, but by making it possible for all those with technological access. In both cases, surveillance is the common thread and main operational factor that enables not only a broad and effective supervision by authorities or private sectors, but primarily the modification of behaviors and social dynamics derived from said surveillance.