• Journal of Korean Philosophical Society
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• v.117
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• pp.327-354
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• 2011

This study has a key assumption that 'characteristics of discouse can be found in not its inside, but its outside'. The prism through which we can see those characteristics was provided by Foucault and Bakhtin who were introduced in the study. As an effort co probe the outside of discourse, the study is briefed 'the three attributes of discourse' that were suggested by Foucault First, discourse has the principle of selection and exclusion, which is based on power relations. Second, discourse is not transparent at all since it is always offensive towards other discourses and defensive against selected ones Third, discourse which is naturally accepted because of its dailiness had a deep structure secretly hidden in it. Based on the above attributes, Foucault and Bakhtin paid their attention to the outside of discourse. Specifically, they considered discourse fundamentally and went beyond it, and reflected the procedures of discourse. This study focused on 'Socrates', something common in the two scholars' works with discourse. In dealing with discourse, Bakhtin started with 'Socratic dialogue' that is based on the dialogic nature of human thoughts which purse the truth. For Foucault, it was Socrates who had the 'courage to cell the truth' and practiced 'self-consideration'. According to Foucault, the ethics of self-practice originated from the philosopher. The ethics is neither the precise representation of individual life that is withdrawn towards the inner self, nor the skills of happiness. It is just relational and cross-sectional. For a better understanding, this study pointed out that Kafka created a variety of 'dialogic voices' focusing on the outside of discourse. Dialogues found in his writings are 'interminable dialogues' that truly 'communicate with different times and different spaces'. For example, his novel, 'Der Prozess' opens the possibility of discussing in various ways the court which is look beyond conventions and extraordinary. Kafka's novels have a structure that their starting point found at the introduction reappears at the termination, presenting multi-vocal dialogues.