Some of the most important works that deal with the techniques by which man can actively shape himself are the later works of Michel Foucault.
Foucault focuses on the techniques of the self that were practised in late antiquity, practices by which individuals worked on themselves as if they were works of art. Foucault traces the variations of these practices from Plato’s Alcibiades to the writings of Seneca, Plutarch, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Pliny and Galen and studies the different techniques by which they attempted to shape the self.
Autography in the Hellenistic era was a way of exploring and understanding the self. However, this process is not about confessing or disavowing the self but preserving and adopting the personal history. It was a personal activity that one chose to constitute oneself, to master oneself and to achieve a state of happiness and peace.
According to Foucault, autography involves writing personal writings or journals in which individuals reflect on their thoughts, experiences and actions. Through this process, they gain a deeper understanding of themselves, their desires, and their relationship to the world around them.
It is important to note that Foucault’s exploration of autobiography is complex and intertwined with his broader ideas about power, knowledge and subjectivity.
“…taking notes on oneself to be reread, writing treatises and letters to friends to help them, and keeping notebooks in order to reactivate for oneself the truths one needed.”
M. Foucault
“Autographies” also refers to a set of first-person narrative texts written in England during the Middle Ages. These texts are characterised by their focus on the individual’s experience and the exploration of personal identity. They are often fragmentary and incomplete, thus reflecting the unpredictable nature of life in the Middle Ages.
In his book Medieval Autographies: the ‘I’ of the Text, A. C. Spearing argues that these texts represent a new kind of writing. This new writing is not about telling stories with predetermined conclusions but exploring the human experience’s complexity. Spearing identifies several key features of medieval autographs, including, among others, a correspondence to life as it is experienced and an unpredictable structure that resembles editing.
Spearing’s book contributes significantly to our understanding of medieval literature and offers a new perspective on the development of first-person writing.
Autographies and mindful writing
Autographies, according to Foucault, are a form of writing that focuses on the conscious formation of identity and understanding of the self. Foucault believed that the self is not fixed but formed and reshaped through our relationships with others and the world around us. Autography can help people better understand these relationships and how they affect their identity.
A.C. Spearing in Medieval Autographies: the ‘I’ of the Text explores how medieval autobiographers constructed their sense of self through their writing. He argues that medieval autographs were not merely factual narratives of an individual’s life but creative works that shaped the author’s identity.
Mindful writing is a form of autography that focuses on awareness of the present observation of thoughts, feelings and sensations. Through this process of self-observation, individuals can better understand themselves and their experiences. Mindful writing is more practical and oriented to everyday life than the other two approaches. It can be used as a tool for self-awareness and stress management, coping with difficult experiences and developing self-acceptance.
These approaches to autography may differ in their methods and historical contexts, but they also share many common elements of mindfulness, introspection, searching and understanding of the self. All three converge in pursuing self-knowledge and encourage the in-depth exploration of existence.