Michel Foucault

1926–1984 · modern philosophy, power, social theory, knowledge systems

Michel Foucault was a French philosopher and social theorist who critically examined the relationship between power and knowledge, and how these forces shape human subjectivity and social institutions. His work focused on historical systems of thought (epistemes), the 'archaeology' of knowledge, and the 'genealogy' of power in areas like madness, punishment, and sexuality, challenging conventional understandings of freedom and truth.

Notable Works

• Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason
• The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception
• The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences
• Archaeology of Knowledge
• Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison
• The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction
• The History of Sexuality, Vol. 2: The Use of Pleasure
• The History of Sexuality, Vol. 3: The Care of the Self
• Security, Territory, Population (Lectures at the Collège de France)
• The Hermeneutics of the Subject (Lectures at the Collège de France)
• What is an Author?
• The Subject and Power

Chat with Michel Foucault on Feynman