About Michel Foucault
Born in Poitiers, France to an upper-middle-class family, Foucault was educated at the École Normale Supérieure, where he developed an interest in philosophy. Here he attained three degrees in total, one in philosophy, one in psychiatry and one in psychology. After several years as a cultural diplomat abroad, he returned to France and published his first major book, The History of Madness, an earlier edition of which had served as his masters thesis.
From 1966 to 1968, Foucault lectured at the University of Tunis, Tunisia before returning to France, where he became head of the philosophy department at the new experimental university of Paris VIII. In 1970 he was admitted to the Collège de France, membership of which he retained till his death. He also became active in a number of left-wing groups involved in anti-racist campaigns, anti-human rights abuses movements, and the struggle for penal reform. He went on to publish The Archaeology of Knowledge, Discipline and Punish, and The History of Sexuality. In these books, he developed archaeological and genealogical methods which emphasized the role power plays in the evolution of discourse in society. Foucault died in Paris of neurological problems compounded by HIV/AIDS; he was the first public figure in France to have died from the disease, with his partner Daniel Defert founding the AIDES charity in his memory.
Much of his work focuses on the intersections between power, society and discourse and examines societal issues in which these intersections play a role. This theme is even demonstrated in his earliest work, including his book Madness and Civilization, which examined the nature of madness itself. The central assertion of the book is that the true nature of madness could not be found in the pathology of the patient, but rather in society's understanding of reason and the societal divisions between reason and insanity. In other words, madness was not a physical condition, but a societal designation.
He went on to become deeply invested in France's penal system, studying and writing on topics such as prisons, treatment of prisoners, social views on prisons and history of imprisonment. He published his finding in Crime and Punishment and remained involved in the prisoners' rights movement for many years, advocating for reform and increased protections.
Later in his career he turned his attention to sexuality, likely spurred on by his own experiences with homosexuality. In The History of Sexuality he discusses how social institutions exercise power over sexual identity and influence attitudes towards sexuality in general. Here too he sought to demonstrate the effects power could have on an individual and their conception of self.
Throughout the many social constructions he studied, his study of knowledge and rhetoric remained fairly prevalent. He disapproved of the term rhetoric, instead referring to it as discourse. Within his work on the subject, the central focus of both The Order of Discourse and The Archeology of Knowledge, he rejects the Platonic notion of discourse simply as a means of bringing out preexisting knowledge or truth. He contends that it is a practice in itself, rather than a reflection of the world. There is no transcendental knowledge, no essential truth. He also makes many assertions which remain central to modern rhetorical studies. He argues that rhetoric is epistemic, and that it is a form of social action. He also asserts that it is within rhetoric that power and knowledge come together. Throughout his life he resisted discussing rhetoric as an independent study worthy in and of itself, but rather always related it to the society in which it was formed and the context in which it existed.
Born in Poitiers, France to an upper-middle-class family, Foucault was educated at the École Normale Supérieure, where he developed an interest in philosophy. Here he attained three degrees in total, one in philosophy, one in psychiatry and one in psychology. After several years as a cultural diplomat abroad, he returned to France and published his first major book, The History of Madness, an earlier edition of which had served as his masters thesis.
From 1966 to 1968, Foucault lectured at the University of Tunis, Tunisia before returning to France, where he became head of the philosophy department at the new experimental university of Paris VIII. In 1970 he was admitted to the Collège de France, membership of which he retained till his death. He also became active in a number of left-wing groups involved in anti-racist campaigns, anti-human rights abuses movements, and the struggle for penal reform. He went on to publish The Archaeology of Knowledge, Discipline and Punish, and The History of Sexuality. In these books, he developed archaeological and genealogical methods which emphasized the role power plays in the evolution of discourse in society. Foucault died in Paris of neurological problems compounded by HIV/AIDS; he was the first public figure in France to have died from the disease, with his partner Daniel Defert founding the AIDES charity in his memory.
Much of his work focuses on the intersections between power, society and discourse and examines societal issues in which these intersections play a role. This theme is even demonstrated in his earliest work, including his book Madness and Civilization, which examined the nature of madness itself. The central assertion of the book is that the true nature of madness could not be found in the pathology of the patient, but rather in society's understanding of reason and the societal divisions between reason and insanity. In other words, madness was not a physical condition, but a societal designation.
He went on to become deeply invested in France's penal system, studying and writing on topics such as prisons, treatment of prisoners, social views on prisons and history of imprisonment. He published his finding in Crime and Punishment and remained involved in the prisoners' rights movement for many years, advocating for reform and increased protections.
Later in his career he turned his attention to sexuality, likely spurred on by his own experiences with homosexuality. In The History of Sexuality he discusses how social institutions exercise power over sexual identity and influence attitudes towards sexuality in general. Here too he sought to demonstrate the effects power could have on an individual and their conception of self.
Throughout the many social constructions he studied, his study of knowledge and rhetoric remained fairly prevalent. He disapproved of the term rhetoric, instead referring to it as discourse. Within his work on the subject, the central focus of both The Order of Discourse and The Archeology of Knowledge, he rejects the Platonic notion of discourse simply as a means of bringing out preexisting knowledge or truth. He contends that it is a practice in itself, rather than a reflection of the world. There is no transcendental knowledge, no essential truth. He also makes many assertions which remain central to modern rhetorical studies. He argues that rhetoric is epistemic, and that it is a form of social action. He also asserts that it is within rhetoric that power and knowledge come together. Throughout his life he resisted discussing rhetoric as an independent study worthy in and of itself, but rather always related it to the society in which it was formed and the context in which it existed.