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One of the fundamental tenets of The Psychic Life of Power is the fact that the author posits that power is not simply an internal construct that exists within individuals, but that it is rather an external force which has an external origin. The nature of that origin is widely perceived to be from society, as illustrated through its numerous conventions and norms of behavior. Interestingly enough, the author contends that such external forms of power engendered by society constitute a large degree of the very formation of an individual, an idea that has numerous ramifications of considerable significance. For instance, this belief of Butler's contends that the existence and general idea of a person actually stems from his or her subjugation to this external force which is the power produced by society.

Furthermore, within this manuscript Butler asserts that the very nature of power, and its products -- in this case that which may be considered the psychic self of an individual -- is fabricated in an artificial form. Therefore, the author believes that there is a contrived element to someone's psyche, which is largely based upon the fact that it stems from social power. What is interesting about this particular assertion is the relationship between the psyche of the individual and the power that spawned it. In several references in The Psychic Power of Life, the author refers to the production of an individual's psyche as an "ambivalent" effect of power -- which of course means that such an effect is not the intended purpose of power, and that people's psyche's are therefore subject to a degree of flexibility and variation since they are merely the bi-product of something inherently larger. This particular belief also points to the nature of the social source of power, which Butler alternately refers to as both concealed and reinforced by the psyches which it is responsible for creating.

Another aspect which The Psychic Power of Life relies upon is the Butler's theory regarding gender identity, which he widely views as a viable social construct. In fact, by propounding that gender is a social artifice as well as the creation of the psyche which governs one's self, the author is able to relate the entire innate nature of an individual's self-conception to external forces. Furthermore, Butler also contends that the psyche created from these external forces produced by society is not only dependant upon such forces for its existence, but are also highly enthralled by such forces, as can be evinced from the following quotation in which the author asserts that "no subject emerges without a passionate attachment to those on who he or she is fundamentally dependant (even if that passion is 'negative' in the psychoanalytic sense" (Butler 1997, p. 7). It is this sense of attachment that is ultimately responsible for the subjugation inherent within everyone's psyche -- or so the author claims.