Foucault The Use Of Pleasure Sparknotes

Among the primary and secondary sources on Greek and Roman, early Christianity, and Rabbinic texts, an underlying commonality that is portrayed within these texts is that there is a line between one that holds a more authoritative position versus a follower. Whether it may be Torah student’s following and learning from Rabbis or a young boy having a relationship with an older man during the ancient Greek and Roman period, there is a constant division between individuals who are respected and have higher powers and those who are passive and following. A theme that ties in with the roles of different hierarchical positions in society is the concept of what it means to be a “man” during not only the ancient Greek and Roman period but as well the early Christians and Rabbinic texts. In Foucault’s book, The Use of Pleasure (p. 81), the excerpt of moderation in the context of what “qualifies” being a man ties in with the course's theme of gender asymmetry and how practicing ‘moderation’ geared to achieving manhood and manliness.
In “The Use of Pleasure,” Foucault addresses that, “Moderation, understood as an aspect of dominion over the self, was an equal footing that qualified a man to exercise his mastery over others” (p. 81). In the context of who is being addressed in this excerpt is a ‘man’ and not man and woman. The neglect to mention that a woman can also exercise her mastery over others limits the authority of women in the ancient Greek and Roman society. By eliminating the woman, the excerpt conveys the notion that “...moderation was a man’s virtue” (p.