The Relationship Between Robinson Crusoe and Friday (Review) Essay Example

The Relationship Between Robinson Crusoe and Friday (Review) Essay Name: David Wang Student No: 0919112022 Class : B Date : Oct 28th,2011 Submitted to: Miss Li Lin The relationship between Robinson Crusoe and Friday The relationship between Robinson Crusoe and Friday has been examined eagerly yet diversely by a number of critics, especially in recent times. Some say their relationship certainly seems to be like brothers, who go through thick and thin together; Some other comment that Crusoe and Friday have a similar relationship to that of a father and son. Despite of all that’s been mentioned above, I have been given, as many others have been given, the impression that Crusoe is the Master and that Friday is merely the servant who is to serve his Master for as long as he lives. This mater-servant perspective of relationship is stated over and over in the novel, for example, I [Crusoe] made him know his Name should be Friday †¦ I likewise taught him to say Master, and then let him know, that was to be my Name Friday, who is merely a servant, is never told about Crusoe’s real name, which manifests a certain hierarchy system, i. e. Crusoe is the master and relatively he is â€Å"higher† than Friday, who willingly serves Crusoe. During that era, slaves were named by their colonial masters and this picture is painted out well in the novel when Crusoe names Friday â€Å"Friday†, without considering what his actual name might be. We will write a custom essay sample on The Relationship Between Robinson Crusoe and Friday (Review) specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Relationship Between Robinson Crusoe and Friday (Review) specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Relationship Between Robinson Crusoe and Friday (Review) specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Friday, regardless to this, takes this relationship well, though it’s just, ironically, a master-servant one and he actually welcomes and embraces it in a heavenly thankful manner and displays this affection to the relationship so well that Crusoe takes it as a submission to servitude as it is narrated â€Å" he knelt down again, kissed the Ground, and laid his Head upon the Ground, and taking me by the Foot, set my Foot upon his Head; this it seems was in token of swearing to be my Slave forever; this half of the sentence brings forth a strong manifestation of Friday yielding to â€Å"eternal slavery†, but the â€Å"external loyalty† to Friday himself and Crusoe, for the sake of being rescued by his forever master, Crusoe. When Friday’s evident submission is displayed, the first few thoughts that come to Crusoe’s mind, as Crusoe’s first reaction, were not negative: I took him up, and made much of him, and encouragd him all I could †¦ h e spoke some Words to me, and though I could not understand them, yet I thought they were pleasant to hear However, how Crusoe reacted may be due to his merely wanting to have another human companion with him and to relieve him of the many years in solitude: for they were the first sound of a Mans Voice, that I had heard, my own excepted, for above Twenty Five Years. After Crusoe makes sure that all the other savages are dead, takes Friday under his wing: I carried him not to my Castle, but quite away to my Cave, on the farther Part of the Island He feared drastically of being attacked during the night he was sleeping quarters away from Friday: I made a little Tent for him in the vacant Place between my two Fortifications †¦ I barred it up in the Night, taking in my Ladders too, so that Friday could no way come at me in the inside of my innermost Wall, without making so much Noise in getting over, that it must needs waken me It is extremely easily noticeable that Crusoe does no t fully trust Friday, having a similarity to the situation with the applying of a gun. At first, Cursoe prevail on Friday to believe that the gun is â€Å"some wonderful Fund of Death and Destruction†; this brings Friday acting very cautiously around the gun: As for the Gun itself, he would not so much as touch it for several Days after; but would speak to it, and talk to it, †¦ which, as I afterwards learnt of him, was to desire it not to kill him. This shows how â€Å"fully† (slightly) the master trusts his loyal servant, which often results in any master-servant relationship. But, still, there is a difference in this relationship where Cruse often gives positive comments about Friday while the reverse is everywhere: a comely handsome Fellow, perfectly well made; with straight strong Limbs †¦ tall and well-shaped †¦ He had a very good Countenance, not a fierce and surly Aspect; but seemed to have something very manly in his Face. To its readers’ surprise, Crusoe keeps on talking about Friday, but in a way that attempts to convince the reader that Friday is not what he is thought of, not a typical black person at the time. A majority of the black population is owned permanently and treated adversely by their European masters. South African then were regarded as if they were dirt or a species lower than animals. Cursoe tries to bring people to believe that Friday is not from that black population and is therefore trying to give a lift to Friday’s level in the hierarchy of people. he had all the Sweetness and Softness of an European à ¢â‚¬ ¦ His Hair was long and black, not curld like Wool †¦ The Colour of his Skin was not quite black, but very tawny; and yet not of an ugly yellow nauseous tawny, as the Brazilians, and Virginians, and other Natives of America are; but of a bright kind of a dun olive Colour †¦ his Nose small, not flat like the Negroes †¦ Teeth well set, and white as Ivory. All the evidences that have been gone through above are what I have picked from pages 203 to 213; through all these pages, Crusoe and Friday build their relationship with each other, supporting my view that Crusoe and Friday have a relationship where the master concerns about the only servant he has while slightly dominating the servant at the same time.

Cross Cultural Studies Essays - Cultural Geography, Free Essays

Cross Cultural Studies Essays - Cultural Geography, Free Essays Cross Cultural Studies Question: What is the value of making cross-cultural comparisons? (Miller, Pg#11: 1999) Cultural anthropology encompasses all aspects of human beliefs, behaviors and ideas. What would the world be like without any knowledge of other cultures? Anthropologists study different cultures to be more understanding and accepting, more appreciative and to enrich our own culture. What is the real problem with the Ku Klux Klan? Perhaps, if they took the time to understand the African-American and Jewish cultures, for example, they would be more accepting of the diversity. Hundreds of years of cultural imperialism has evolved into a legion of hate. Emic studies put the researcher in the middle of the culture, free to interact and discover a new life style. After a few months or even a year in a different culture, one has a better understanding of the lifestyle, and understanding leads to acceptance. Once people, especially powerful political leaders, learn cultural relativism war will be a practice of the past and only discussed in history classes. Another reason for cross-cultural comparison is to make us more appreciative of our own culture and environment. For example, members of the Peace Corp volunteer months to years of their lives to live and help in third world countries. They may not be there with the purpose of studying culture, however, living among the people and having to adapt to their way of life gives them a first-hand experience of a third world life. Seeing the way life is without any luxuries make us realize how convenient our lives are. Plentiful amounts of food, clean water, stable shelter and adequate clothing are just a few of the many luxuries that our culture sees as essentials. Many volunteers return from the Peace Corp and adopt a new way of life; much less extravagant than the one they led before. Finally, we study other cultures to enrich our own. Where would Canadian culture be without the influence of the French, Italian, Chinese, and all the other cultures that form the cultural mosaic that defines Canada? Without the mixture of cultures in our country, we would still be eating meat and potatoes for every meal. The cultural blend that has come together to make up Canada, but yet retain their own individualities, work together to make a hybrid culture created from the best of all that are combined. In conclusion, we see that without cross-cultural comparisons life would be boring and monotonous. Learning about other cultures makes us more understanding, accepting, and appreciative of the diversity. No more war, no more racism and no more ethnic cleansing once ethnocentrism and cultural imperialism are abolished. Cultural diversity is the spice of life.

Biology in Daphnia

Biology in Daphnia Essay Teachers Guide. qxd 25/1/08 8:00 Page 1 Teacher/Lecturer A1. 21L CORE Activity 1. 21 Does caffeine affect heart rate? Purpose †¢ †¢ To investigate the effect of caffeine on the heart rate of Daphnia (water fleas). To highlight experimental and investigative assessment objectives. Safety Any student known to suffer from photosensitive epilepsy should be warned before a stroboscopic light is used. Flickering lights in the range 5–30 Hz are thought to trigger seizures in sensitive individuals. Notes on the procedure The student sheet that accompanies this activity guides students through planning and writing up this investigation. After students plan the investigation their plans can then be discussed with the group. To support less able students, or to help with the organisation of practical work for a large group, students could be given the practical procedure at the end of these notes (see page 3). It provides a basic outline and will need to be read by students before starting the practical with decisions and modifications made as appropriate. The procedure is for a simple experiment; more able students could complete a more complex experiment using serial dilutions, with several Daphnia used at each concentration. Note that high concentrations of caffeine can be fatal for Daphnia. The Daphnia hearts are fairly easily seen but counting the number of beats can be difficult. Counting is easier if each heartbeat is recorded by tapping a pencil on a piece of paper and counting up the pencil marks after the specified time. In addition, cooling the Daphnia before the experiment may help slow their heart rate. An ICam above the eye-piece of the microscope to project an image of the slide onto a large screen may also help with counting. Foster, in the Journal of Biological Education (1997) 31, pp. 53–255, provides a method using a stroboscope to freeze the motion. Use of the stroboscope may overcome the problems of counting faster heart rates. However, we would not recommend this method. Positioning the light sources and strobe is tricky. It is very difficult to freeze the motion and viewing with a strobe light can cause eye strain and dizziness. A simpler approach is to count the rate at which the legs beat. This rate is proportional to the rate at which the heart beats. A dissecting microscope with a light source under the stage works well for this experiment. To prevent the Daphnia from overheating while on the microscope turn off the microscope light between observations and use a heat sink – a cavity tile filled with iced water placed on the microscope under the slide. Using pond water/Daphnia culture solution is recommended for both the control group and to dissolve the caffeine as this may give more valid results and be less stressful to the Daphnia. In distilled water the heart rate may rise due to lack of oxygen. Edexcel practical materials created by Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology,  ©University of York Science Education Group. 1 Teachers Guide. qxd 5/1/08 8:00 Page 2 Teacher/Lecturer A1. 21L CORE Activity 1. 21 Does caffeine affect heart rate? In the trial of the experiment caffeine was used at 0. 1% and 0. 5% w/v with no ill effect. At 1% the Daphnia stopped swimming after 5 minutes. It is suggested that a ‘blind’ study is done. This means that the person counting the heart rate is unaware as to whether th e Daphnia is in water with or without caffeine. It has been shown that observer expectations influence the result. It is difficult to get clear-cut results from this experiment and significant differences between treatments may not be found. The sets of results below indicate the sorts of results that can be expected. It should be impressed upon students that it does not matter if they do not get differences between treatments. Indeed, the experiment provides plenty of opportunity to evaluate critically the technique used and really focus attention on the experimental skills aspect of this activity. Experiment 1 Daphnia were cooled on ice before the experiment. Beakers containing Daphnia in pond water were put on ice for about half an hour. This had the effect of slowing the heart rate and thus facilitating counting. The temperature of the pond water in which the Daphnia were swimming fell to about 5 oC. A single Daphnia was placed in a beaker containing test solution for 5 minutes: either pond water or pond water + 0. 5% caffeine. After the 5 minutes, the Daphnia (in a few drops of test solution) was transferred to the slide for measurement of heart rate. Each individual was counted for 4 _ 30 seconds. A blind counting method was used. Overall means: Caffeine – 173 beats per minute Control – 172 beats per minute There were no immediately observable ill effects of caffeine at this concentration (0. 5% w/v). Experiment 2 READ: Translation lost from the Novel to the Movies EssayThe experiment was conducted at room temperature. A single Daphnia was transferred to the slide. A paper towel was used to remove the pond water from the slide. A few drops of test solution – either pond water or pond water + 0. 5% caffeine – were dripped onto the Daphnia. The clock was started immediately and the heart rate recorded for 15 seconds at 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 minutes. An ICam was used to facilitate counting. The results from the two experiments do not show that caffeine increases heart rate in Daphnia. Edexcel practical materials created by Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology,  ©University of York Science Education Group. Teachers Guide. qxd 25/1/08 8:00 Page 3 Teacher/Lecturer A1. 21L CORE Activity 1. 21 Does caffeine affect heart rate? Table 1 Results for Experiment 1 Treatment Heart rate/beats 30 s-1 Trial 1 Trial 2 85 84 86 91 87 70 101 75 98 91 Trial 3 81 78 86 93 90 73 74 98 85 Trial 4 88 82 84 99 90 74 85 100 94 Mean 85 82 85 93 88 70 91 81 97 90 Mean for individual Beats min-1 Caffeine Caffeine Caffeine Caffeine Caffeine Control Control Control Control Control 87 83 84 89 86 62 81 88 93 89 170 164 170 186 176 140 182 162 194 180 Table 1 Results for Experiment 1 Source: Hardie and Tranter (1983) Biology Practicals: Teacher’s Guide Number of heartbeats in 15 seconds Length of time in solution/minutes Treatment Caffeine Caffeine Caffeine Caffeine Mean Control Control 2 49 54 54 59 54 57 58 4 53 54 59 65 58 55 60 6 49 57 55 64 56 59 54 8 44 51 61 68 56 50 58 10 48 55 64 62 57 58 60 3 Edexcel practical materials created by Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology,  ©University of York Science Education Group. Teachers Guide. qxd 25/1/08 8:00 Page 4 Technician A1. 21L CORE Activity 1. 21 Does caffeine affect heart rate? Purpose To investigate the effect of caffeine on the heart rate of Daphnia (water fleas). This is an activity that students may plan themselves. There is also a support sheet giving a suggested method. The list below gives the apparatus and approximate quantities needed for the suggested method. However, students may ask for things outside of this list. Requirements per student or group of students Culture of Daphnia Notes †¢ Daphnia may be killed by chlorine in tap water. Any tap water used should be left to stand for 24 hours first to let the chlorine dissipate. †¢ Allow at least nine Daphnia per student or pair. They should be unharmed by the activity, but may need too long to recover after the caffeine to use the same one for different concentrations in the same practical. They can be bought from an aquarist or Blades Biological Supplies. †¢ To catch them use a plastic pipette with the tip cut off to make it wider. Goldfish enjoy disposing of Daphnia. †¢ This will stop them getting mixed up with the ‘fresh’ ones. †¢ Students can wash and reuse the slides if needed. Container for ‘used’ Daphnia 6 cavity slides Approximately 5 (0. 5%) cm3 caffeine solution †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Dissolve 0. 5 g caffeine in 100 cm3 water. Instant coffee can be used. Make up the solution with culture water or distilled water. Students will need to dilute this to make weaker solutions. If time is limited it may be easier to provide made-up solutions of 0. 25%. (Consult with the teacher/lecturer – they may prefer to use more concentrations, e. g. 0. 1%, 0. 2%, 0. 3%, 0. 4% if time permits. ) Cotton wool †¢ Students will only need a small amount – about as much as is in a single cotton wool ball will supply the whole class. They put a few strands on the slide to stop the Daphnia moving. 3 dropping pipettes 5–10 cm3 distilled water or water from the Daphnia culture Test tubes/small beakers Small measuring cylinder or 5 cm3 syringe Approximately 100 pond water cm3 distilled or †¢ For adding to the Daphnia during the experiment. For students to collect or mix their caffeine solutions in. They will need more if they are doing more concentrations. †¢ For making dilutions of caffeine solution. †¢ For making dilutions of caffeine solution. Amount required will depend on the dilutions made Stopclock Paper towels or filter paper Micros cope Stroboscope †¢ For use at low power. Some centres find that it is useful, if available, to use a microscope-mounted video camera to show students the heart. †¢ If this is available, it can be used to get a more accurate measure of how fast the heart is beating, but is not recommended. Safety Important! Stroboscopes can trigger epileptic fits in some people. Anyone known to be susceptible should be warned. Background lighting should be retained and exposure times minimised. Edexcel practical materials created by Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology,  ©University of York Science Education Group. 4 Teachers Guide. qxd 25/1/08 8:00 Page 5 Student A1. 21L CORE Activity 1. 21 Does caffeine affect heart rate? Purpose To investigate the effect of caffeine on the heart rate of Daphnia (water fleas). Safety READ: Virgil's Aeneid EssayIf a stroboscope is used to show the Daphnia’s heart rate and you know you suffer from photosensitive epilepsy tell your teacher and take appropriate precautions. Caffeine Plants produce caffeine as an insecticide. Cocoa in South America, coffee in Africa and tea in Asia have all been used for hundreds of years to produce ‘pick me up’ drinks containing caffeine. These days, caffeine is also used as a flavour enhancer in a wide range of cola and other soft drinks. In addition, it has medicinal uses in aspirin preparations, and is found in weight-loss drugs and as a stimulant in students’ exam-time favourites like Pro-plus and Red Bull. At high levels of consumption caffeine has been linked to restlessness, insomnia and anxiety, causing raised stress and blood pressure. This can lead to heart and circulation problems. Procedure Making a hypothesis What do you think will be the effect of caffeine on the heart rate of water fleas? Write down your ideas and support your prediction by presenting biological knowledge which supports the idea. You now have an idea (hypothesis) to test. Planning The beating heart of a water flea can be seen through its translucent body, by placing the flea in a few drops of water in a cavity slide. A cover slip helps stop the water evaporating. The following equipment will be available: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Culture of Daphnia (water fleas) Cavity slides Dropping pipettes Distilled water Caffeine tablets †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Cotton wool Standard glassware (beakers, measuring cylinders, etc. ) Stopclock Paper towels or filter paper Microscope Produce a detailed plan for an experiment that allows you to test your hypothesis about the effect of caffeine on the heart rate of water fleas. Edexcel practical materials created by Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology,  ©University of York Science Education Group. 5 Teachers Guide. qxd 25/1/08 8:00 Page 6 Student A1. 21L CORE Activity 1. 21 Does caffeine affect heart rate? In your plan, make sure you include the following: †¢ Select suitable apparatus that will give you measurements which will validly test your hypothesis. Explain why the apparatus is suitable and how the results will let you test the hypothesis. Include a risk assessment, identifying any risks and explaining any safety precautions that need to be taken so as to reduce those risks. Comment on the ethical issues that arise from using living organisms in the experiment and explain how these will be taken into account in the practical method used. Identify the dependent and independent variables, and indicate how relevant variables will be controlled. Show how you will ensure that reliable and valid results are produced, and describe what you will do to ensure that measurements are precise, accurate and repeatable. Identify any potential errors in readings that can be systematic (values differing from the true value by the same amount) or random (values equally likely to lie above or below the true value). †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Edexcel practical materials created by Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology,  ©University of York Science Education Group. 6

Outline and discuss the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) as means of Essay - 3

Outline and discuss the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) as means of valuing securities and their risk. What are the drawbacks - Essay Example Some other financial experts like Lintner and Mossini also explained and purified CAPM and its interpretation in later years (Gassen, and Sellhorn, 2006). Capital Asset Pricing Model Being a quantitative tool for computing the yield of a security, CAPM is used for pricing the financial asset through mathematical calculations (Fields and Vincent, 2001). There are three main components of CAPM model which are stated as follows: Rf = Risk-free rate Beta = Risk of individual security with respect to market Rm – Rf = Market Risk Premium Risk-free Rate Risk free rate is considered as the rate at which the investor does not face any risk yet he obtains a specified return. This risk-free return can be obtained by investing in government securities which are considered are risk free. However, the term risk-free is referred to only the risk related to default risk. Since governments are considered as the ones which are not supposed to face default risk, therefore, their securities are c onsidered as risk-free securities (Babu, 2012). Beta Beta is the factor which indicates the risk of a particular security associated with the overall market risk (Vishwanath, 2007). ... This is the risk which is beyond the control of an investor as well as the corporations whose securities are being traded in the capital market. This risk is called as the overall market risk such that the whole market is exposed to that risk and bears its consequences (Berk and DeMarzo, 2010). On the contrary, unsystematic risk is the risk related to a specific security such as downfall in the earnings, or slow growth, heavy fine etc. This is the risk which does not affect the market and can be eliminated through diversification by adding more securities in the portfolio. Market does not reward unsystematic risk of a particular because this risk can be eliminated through diversification. But it does reward the systematic risk as this risk is faced by every security simultaneously in the whole market (Watson and Head, 2009). In a more concise manner, beta is the measure of systematic risk of the individual security with respect to market risk. In other words, it tells how much volati le an individual security is with the market volatility. Beta of the overall market is 1. So if the beta of the individual security exceeds 1, it means that the security is having more risk as compared to market risk. On the contrary, if the beta is less than 1, it means that the security is having less volatility as compared to market risk. A risk taker invests in those securities which have a beta of greater than 1 whereas a risk averse investor tends to remain at a safe side and invest in those securities which have a beta lower than 1. Market Risk Premium Market risk premium is actually the difference between the overall market return and the risk free return (Brigham and Ehrhardt, 2010). In other words, it is actually the excess return that market provides above the

Paraphrasing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 30

Paraphrasing - Essay Example In our home for instance supervision of children even on simple matters as just browsing the internet is very normal. I therefore have grown up appreciating the important role of parental guidance in our lives. This has become so entrenched in me that seeing fellow youth just doing their own things and making decisions without parental involvement for me seemed strange at some point. I for instance find extremely threatening in terms development and growth for children are allowed a lot of freedom to access and experiment with technology on their own. However, with and as I continue to mingle with people from different cultures and parts of the world I realise that things are different. Children from other cultures are left to surf the internet on their own devoid of any form of parental guidance. Critically looking at the issue I begin to change my biases because I find these children are left to learn on their own and control their own at an early age hence their development could even be faster. Interaction with other cultures is therefore a very important factor behind changes in our biases. Age is also important as well as the level of exposure one has to the outside

Christmas present Essay Example for Free

Christmas present Essay This passage shows that everyone around the table knows the goose is cheap but is all-thankful of how it looks. This here shows that they really make the best of what they have. Many different ways Victorian reality was different including infant mortality which Dickens talks about through Bob Cratchit son Tiny Tim, whose the smallest of the house at sits on Bob Cratchit arm. Tiny Tim hasnt got much and is crippled but he is still a blessing to the Cratchit family. He is warm-hearted and has innocence. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk and blind men see. Tiny Tim hear is thinking about others and not himself, this goes to show he hasnt got much, and is a cripple but is still in the Christmas season. Which shows that Tiny Tim is very selfless. Through all of this experience Scrooge is silent all the way through and this shows the reader that he is very ashamed. This is confirmed when the Ghost of Christmas present says the words that Scrooge had said. Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief. The reader starts to realise that Scrooge is changing and feeling sorry for what he had said, and wishes he could take it all back. Scrooge is starting to truly find out the nature of the Christmas season. But he still hasnt fully got it yet; he has still got more to come. On the journey to other places, which were celebrating Christmas, Dickens uses a number of long sentences to build up tension and to describe places. And now, without a word of warning from the ghost, they stood upon a beak and desert moor, where monstrous masses of rude stone were cast about, as though it were the burial-place of giants; and water spread itself where over it listed or would have done so, but for the frost that held it prisoner; and nothing grew but moss and furze, and coarse, rank grass. Dickens uses a sentence structure where there are many sub co ordinate clauses first in the sentence before the main clause. This is used to build up tension and describe places they are the ghost and Scrooge are going to visit. Dickens gets Scrooge to go to these places because Scrooge needs to change his selfish ways, and by showing him how poor and rich people celebrate their Christmas and they are both alike. The next and last place Scrooge goes to is his nephew. His nephew is sympathetic to him but the rest arent so easily quick to accept his new ways. I am sorry for him; I couldnt be angry with him if I tried. Who suffers by his ill whims! Himself, always. Here he takes into his head to dislike us, and he wont come and dine with us. Scrooges nephew feels sorry for him being so selfish and tries to justify his selfish ways to the rest of the family. I have no patience with him, observed scrooges niece. Scrooges nieces sisters, and all the other ladies, expressed the same opinion. Apart from Scrooges nephew they havent got time for Scrooge and his selfish ways. By watching his own family he realises and finds out what people think about him, the truth about his behaviour. Then he realises that other people are very important to him. Family is important! A Merry Christmas and a Happy Year New Year to the old man, whatever he is! Even though Scrooge is selfish and has a solid cold heart, his family still love him and still wish him a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. To conclude, by Scrooge hearing this, going from door to door, following all the ghosts back through his life helps him to change his selfish ways and antics. Which helps to live and good and prosperous lifestyle, and start to find out what the Christmas season is all about.

economy of power :: essays research papers

15 The economy of power ‘I would like to suggest another way to go further towards a new economy of power relations, a way which is more empirical, more directly related to our present situation, and which implies more relations between theory and practice. Michel Foucault, 1982 Beyond the repressive hypothesis: Power as power/knowledge Foucault never attempts any (impossible) definition of power. At best, he gives a definition of power relations in an essay published in 1982: ‘The exercise of power is not simply a relationship between partners, individual or collective; it is a way in which certain actions modify others. Which is to say, of course, that something called Power, with or without a capital letter, which is assumed to exist universally in a concentrated or diffused form, does not exist.’ Therefore, Foucauldian definition of power is drawn in opposition with the  « repressive hypothesis  » (Foucault, 1971) which holds that there is a transcendental reason which can be exercised independently of any power relationship. Precisely because it is transcendental, reason is then universally compelling. It can limit the political power field and has therefore a role in opposing domination (ie when political power goes beyond its rights). Foucault draws the genealogy of this hypothesis advocating two reasons for its appearance in history(Dreyfus and Rabinow, 1982:130). On a first hand, because of what he calls the  « speaker’s benefit  », the mere fact that, by advocating such a hypothesis, the speaker places himself out of power and within truth. However, this is not the main argument of Foucault as he must recognise that, not as an archaeologist but as a genealogist, he is himself in a field of power relations. On a second hand, because: ‘modern power is tolerable on the condition that it masks itself–which it has done very effectively. If truth is outside of and opposed to power, then the speaker’s benefit is merely an incidental plus. But if truth and 16 power are not external to each other, as Foucault will obviously maintain, then the speaker’s benefit and associated ploys are among the essential ways in which power operates. It masks itself by producing a discourse, seemingly opposed to it but really part of a larger deployment of modern power.’ An additional, more technical, reason should be added, which is that talking about a transcendental reason means falling again in the contradictions of modernity (see part 1). Therefore, Foucault prefers considering rationality as  « a kind of rationality  » and study how several kinds of rationalities could emerge in history (see part 2). However, considering the emergence of a kind of rationality presupposes that the field of possible knowledge is tightly