Philosopher

Michel Foucault

Overview

Paul-Michel Foucault, known as Michel Foucault, (UK: FOO-koh, US: foo-KOH; French: [pɔl miʃɛl fuko]; 15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984) was a French philosopher, literary critic, and historian of ideas who analyzed the relationships between power, knowledge, and liberty, and how they are used as a form of social control through institutions. Sometimes called a structuralist or postmodernist, he rejected these labels and sought to critique authority without limiting himself. His thought has influenced academics in many areas of study, including anthropology, communication studies, criminology, cultural studies, feminism, literary theory, psychology, and sociology. His arguments against homophobia, racial prejudice, and other ideological doctrines have also shaped scholarship on critical theory and Marxism–Leninism.

Born in Poitiers, France, into an upper-middle-class family, Foucault was educated at the Lycée Henri-IV, at the École Normale Supérieure, developing an interest in philosophy and coming under the influence of his tutors Jean Hyppolite and Louis Althusser. At the University of Paris (Sorbonne), he earned degrees in philosophy and psychology. After several years as a cultural diplomat abroad, he returned to France and published his first major book, The History of Madness (1961). While working at the University of Clermont-Ferrand (1960–66), he produced The Birth of the Clinic (1963) and The Order of Things (1966), which have a structuralist affinity from which he later distanced himself. These first three histories exemplified "archeology", a historiographical technique he was developing.

Foucault lectured at the University of Tunis (1966–68), before returning to France, becoming head of the philosophy department at the new experimental university of Paris VIII, and publishing The Archaeology of Knowledge (1969). He was admitted to the Collège de France (1970), a membership he retained until his death. He also became active in several left-wing groups involved in anti-racist human rights campaigns, including penal reform. He later published Discipline and Punish (1975) and The History of Sexuality (1976), developing archaeological and genealogical methods that emphasize the role power plays in society.

Foucault died in Paris from complications of HIV/AIDS. He became the first public figure in France to die from complications of the disease, with his charisma and career influence changing mass awareness of the pandemic and influencing HIV/AIDS activism. His partner, Daniel Defert, founded the AIDES charity in his memory.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

Michel Foucault

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