Michel Foucault: A Man in Search of the Ultimate Answer (1926 – 1984)

Michel Foucault is a man of many interests, driven by passion and pleasure to make his mark on society. Foucault was a French historian and philosopher, who became most famous for his studies on social establishments. Son of a surgeon, Foucault was heartened to follow in his footsteps, yet Foucault had other plans, and steered his way into Saint-Stanislas School where he began his education in philosophy. During 1946 Foucault entered the most eminent school in France, Exalted for their humanities studies department, “The École Normale Supérièure d’Ulm”. After spending a fair amount of time in education, his instruction was complete by 1951. Foucault graduated with a BA degree in Psychopathology (1947), a BA equivalent degree in Philosophy (1948), and had successfully passed his ‘agrégation’ (1951).

Foucault’s inspiring career activated in 1961 with the release of his first and most compelling works “Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason”. This book beams Foucault's magnetism to madness, unreason and the state of delirium. Foucault accentuates on negative concepts in society and argues that madness and reason are inevitably linked.

Following this Foucault released “The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception” (1963). Here Foucault outlines the advancement of medical cures and diseases. Foucault specifically fashioned the term "medical gaze" to imply the impersonalizing dissection of the individual’s body and self hood. Foucault’s other influential works include: “Death and the Labyrinth” (1963), “The Order of Things” (1966), “Discipline and Punish” (1975), and “The History of Sexuality” (1976-1984).

What fascinates me most with Foucault is his continuous reference to power and knowledge throughout his publications. Foucault was truly a man of power himself, having being the most influential social theorist of the late 20^th century. It is Foucault’s concepts on power and knowledge that we will be discussing in further blog entries.