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Biopolitics: Lessons from history
Author(s) -
Peterson Steven A.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
journal of the history of the behavioral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.216
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1520-6696
pISSN - 0022-5061
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6696(197610)12:4<354::aid-jhbs2300120407>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - biopower , metaphor , field (mathematics) , politics , sociology , epistemology , social science , environmental ethics , political science , philosophy , law , linguistics , mathematics , pure mathematics
Biopolitics is an emerging subdiscipline within the field of political science. The essay examines historical antecedents and delineates three categories of such works: 1) metaphor, 2) evolutionary/genetic influences on behavior, and 3) public policy implications. A number of problems with these works are noted. Finally, suggestions for the current interest in biopolitics are outlined, based upon the historical analysis.