Michel Foucault Biography

Michel Foucault, born on 15th of October, 1926, as Paul-Michel Foucault, was a French philosopher, historian and sociologist, associated with the structuralist and post-structuralist movements. His father Paul, was an eminent surgeon. Early in his life Faucault suffered from acute depression, which after seeing a psychiatrist led him to developing an interest in psychology. Michel Faucault is known for his critical studies of psychiatry, medicine, human sciences, the prison system and other social institutions. He received a degree in psychology, which at the time was a rare qualification in France. Later on, he also earned his degree in Philosophy in 1952. After World War II, he attended Ecole Normale Superieure (also known as Normale Sup', Normale, ENS, ENS-Paris or ENS-Ulm), which was a very prestigious higher education establishment. Michel Foucault is known for his major works: Madness and Civilization, The Birth of the Clinic, The Order of Things, The Archaeology of Knowledge, Discipline and Punish and The History of Sexuality. Similar to the German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, Foucault was also interested in writing about his discoveries and observations on power and knowledge, and what it means in society. Perhaps Nietzsche served as the origin of his ideas on these subjects. After all, it was Faucault who said "I am a Nietzschean", toward the end of his life. Madness and Civilization (1961) Madness and Civilization was Faucault's first major work. In this book he expores ideas madness throughout the centuries of Western history, as well as its relationship to and effects on art and literature. The Birth of the Clinic Faucault's second book, The Birth of the Clinic continues where Madness and Civilization left off. Here Faucault talks about the development and progression of the medical profession, specifically the institution of the clinique. One of the main concepts of the book is the "medical regard", which was translated by Alan Sheridan as "medical gaze". The Order of Things: An Archaeology of the Human Sciences This book was published in 1966 and translated into English in 1970 (published by Pantheon Books). Faucault later changed the title from L'Orde des Choses, which is the original French title, because there was already a book of the same name. He opens the book with a discussion of Diego Velazquez's painting Las Meninas. What follows is a discussion of the argument that conditions such as scientific discourse have been changing over time in sudden, abrupt ways from one period (for example Renaissance) to another. After this book was published, Faucault became an important intellectual figure in France. The History of Sexuality This may be considered as Faucault's most well-known work. This is a three-part book that examines the ways in which the contemporary interpretation of sexuality has been formed by historical trends. Faucault argument is that our sexual identity is constructed as a function of political and economic forces. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in sexuality, psychoanalysis, gender studies, queer theory, or feminisms, or indeed anyone who wishes to confront his or her own personal assumptions about gender and sexuality