Neurotechnology as an Instrument of Disciplinary Power and a Means of Personality Formation within the Context of Michel Foucault

ABSTRACT

In the context of 21st-century scientific and technological achievements, neurotechnologies have emerged not only as tools for clinical intervention and cognitive enhancement, but also as mechanisms of social regulation and subject formation. This article explores neurotechnologies through the theoretical lenses of Michel Foucault’s “disciplinary and biopolitical power”, Gilles Deleuze’s “societies of control,” and Shoshana Zuboff’s “surveillance capitalism.” Neurotechnological interventions, initially developed for therapeutic or assistive purposes, are increasingly penetrating cognitive, emotional, and behavioral domains, shaping individuals as “neurosubjects” who internalize socially constructed norms, monitor their own cognitive states, and strive for optimized brain function. These processes operate through a fusion of normalization, internalized surveillance, and predictive control, giving rise to a new regime of neurodisciplinary governance. Drawing on Foucault’s concept of the panopticon, the article argues that neurotechnologies establish a contemporary “neuro-panopticon,” where both thought and affect become objects of continuous monitoring and modulation. Furthermore, the paper examines how neurotechnologies are employed in educational, military, and labor systems to collect and algorithmically process brain data, transforming the individual into a data-producing and governable entity. Ethical implications, such as autonomy, mental privacy, and the emergence of a potential “neuro-elite” are critically discussed. The article concludes by identifying potential avenues for resistance through public awareness, legal reform, and the cultivation of neurocritical self-consciousness.