In Finland, physical punishment of children is clearly forbidden by the Child Custody Act of 1983, but studies show that up to 72 percent of children under age 14 have experienced corporal punishment at home. This conflict is the subject of the proposed research study described in this article. The article begins with a legislative history of corporal punishment in Finland, and then provides a summary of research on its prevalence and attitudes toward its use. Following is a discussion of the proposed research, which will focus on the conflict between scientific and legal condemnations of corporal punishment and the "common knowledge" that it is sometimes necessary in child rearing. The study's methods, which involve analysis of texts, are described, including the choice of text sources (pedagogical books, legal regulations, and newspaper copy) and the use of Foucault's archaeological method. The article concludes with a description of the study's social function, which includes the uncovering of previously forgotten assumptions operating within discourse on corporal punishment. Contains 34 references. (EV)