Interpellation is a concept first coined by Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser to describe the process by which ideology addresses the (abstract) pre-ideological individual thus effectively producing him as subject proper. Henceforth, Althusser goes against the classical definition of the subject as cause and substance: in other words, the situation always precedes the (individual or collective) subject, which precisely as subject is "always-already interpellated". Althusser's argument here strongly draws from Jacques Lacan's concept of the Mirror stage and reveals obvious parallels with the work of his former student Michel Foucault in it's antihumanist insistence on the secondary status of the subject as mere effect of social relations and not vice versa. Interpellation specifically involves the moment and process of recognition of interaction with the ideology at hand. Marxism is both the theory and the political practice (that is, the praxis) derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ... Louis Pierre Althusser (Pronunciation: altuË¡seʁ) (October 16, 1918 – October 23, 1990) was a Marxist philosopher. ... Political Ideologies Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. ... Subject (philosophy) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Look up substance in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Jacques-Marie-Émile Lacan (French IPA: ) (April 13, 1901 – September 9, 1981) was a French psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, and doctor. ... child and mirror The mirror stage was the subject of Jacques Lacans first official contribution to psychoanalytic theory (Fourteenth International Psychoanalytical Congress at Marienbad in 1936). ... Michel Foucault (IPA pronunciation: ) (October 15, 1926 – June 25, 1984) was a French philosopher and historian. ... Antihumanism is a term coined by Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser against Marxist humanists, which he considered a revisionist movement. ...

Interpellation, a concept coined by Althusser

Further information: Louis Althusser

When Althusser first introduced the concept of interpellation, in Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses, the Marxist philosopher was referring to the police act of interpelling someone: "Hey you!", and the subsequent turning backward of the guilty subject. Althusser thus pointed out the essential relationship between guilt and subjectivity, as Nietzsche had done in his On the Genealogy of Morals. As in Foucault's philosophy, the subject is not preexistent to its constitution by power or ideology. Louis Pierre Althusser (Pronunciation: altuˡseʁ) (October 16, 1918 – October 23, 1990) was a Marxist philosopher. ... Louis Pierre Althusser (Pronunciation: altuˡseʁ) (October 16, 1918 – October 23, 1990) was a Marxist philosopher. ... “Guilty” redirects here. ... Friedrich Nietzsche, 1882 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 - August 25, 1900) was a highly influential German philosopher. ... On the Genealogy of Morals (German: Zur Genealogie der Moral), subtitled A Polemic (Eine Streitschrift), is a work by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed and first published in 1887. ... Michel Foucault (IPA pronunciation: ) (October 15, 1926 – June 25, 1984) was a French philosopher and historian. ...

See also: Judith Butler, Slavoj Zizek, and Subjectivation

Image:J Butler. ... Slavoj Žižek. ... Subjectivation is a philosophical concept coined by Michel Foucault. ...

Interpellation in the context of social science

In the context of Social Science to Interpellate is to identify with a particular idea or identity. For example, if someone were to shout your name at you in the street, you would interpellate that salutation to mean yourself. It is basically thinking 'that means me'. It is the process by which you recognize yourself to belong to a particular identity. The social sciences are groups of academic disciplines that study the human aspects of the world. ...

This has been a particularly useful insight for understanding the power of media; the extent to which media (especially advertising, but also news and entertainment) "speak" to viewers by addressing them is a part of their emotional and persuasive appeal. In this context, the interpellation is rarely as specific as being addressed by name, but rather being addressed as a member of an audience, in terms of a specific demographic, or as a part of a subculture. When we recognize that we are being spoken to, we not only engage more deeply with the text, we also accept the social role being offered to us: young, or white, or female, or wealthy, or gay, or athletic, or liberal.

Interpellation as a right of parliament

The word Interpellation is also used to refer to the formal right of a parliament to submit formal questions to the government. In many parliaments, each individual member of parliament has the right to formally submit questions (possibly a limited amount during a certain period of time) to a member of government. The respective minister or secretary is then required to respond and to justify government policy. Interpellation thus allows the parliament to supervise the government's activity. In this sense, it is closer to a motion of censure. A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modelled after that of the United Kingdom. ... A minister or a secretary is a politician who heads a government ministry or department (e. ... For other uses, see Secretary (disambiguation). ... Distinguish from sensor, censer and censor. ...

See also: Prime Minister's Questions and Question time

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

References

• Louis Althusser, Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses (I.S.A.) published in English in Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays, available online here