ABSTRACT
This introduction chapter presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes the different shades of meaning words take on by guiding the reader through the general and specific panoptic mechanisms. It outlines how Jeremy Bentham modified his surveillance model to adapt it to the needs of inmates and to the requirements of his utilitarian vision. The chapter explores that contrary to traditional historiography about the BenthamFoucault relationship, Bentham's and Michel Foucault's power theories have much in common, if the panoptic experience is left aside. It explains the shift from the judicial institution's role in establishing truth to Bentham's criticism of the concept of truth per se. The chapter focuses on the relationship between penal theory and constitutional writings in Bentham's thought. It provides a reassessment of the long-established interpretation of the panoptic central-inspection principle and of the panoptic discipline paradigm.
