Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault (October 15, 1926 – June 26, 1984) was a French philosopher and held a chair at the Collège de France, a chair to which he gave the title "The History of Systems of Thought". His writings have had an enormous impact on other scholarly work: Foucault's influence extends across the humanities and social sciences, and across many applied and professional areas of study.

Related Topics:
October 15 - 1926 - June 26 - 1984 - French - Philosopher - Collège de France

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Foucault is well known for his critiques of various social institutions, most notably psychiatry, medicine and the prison system, and also for his ideas on the history of sexuality. His general theories concerning power and the relation between power and knowledge, as well as his ideas concerning "discourse" in relation to the history of Western thought have been widely discussed and applied. Foucault was also opposed to all social constructs that implied an identity, which included everything from the identity of male/female and homosexuality, to that of criminals and political activists. A philosophical example of Foucault's theories on identity was an observation of the history of homosexual identity, which progressed over the years from an implied act to an implied identity.

Related Topics:
Psychiatry - Medicine - Prison - Power - Discourse

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His work is often described as postmodernist or post-structuralist by contemporary commentators and critics. During the 1960s, however, he was more often associated with the structuralist movement. Although he was initially happy to go along with this description, he later emphasised his distance from the structuralist approach, arguing that unlike the structuralists he did not adopt a formalist approach. Neither was he interested in having the postmodern label applied to his own work, saying he preferred to discuss how 'modernity' was defined.

Related Topics:
Postmodernist - Post-structuralist - Structuralist - Postmodern

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