Biography of Michel Foucault
Dec 24, 2012
Philo 300A Postmodernism
Michel Foucault (1926– 1984), A Biography & Examination of His Theories
“Anyway, my personal life is not at all interesting. If somebody thinks that my work cannot be understood without reference to such and such a part of my life, I accept to consider the question. I am ready to answer if I agree. As far as my personal life is uninteresting, it is not worthwhile making a secret of it. By the same token, it may not be worthwhile publicizing it.”
Michel Foucault, an Interview with Stephen Riggins, Toronto, 1982. (Foucault, 2008)
Born Paul-Michel Foucault in 1926 in Poitiers in western France, Michel Foucault was a very unlikely candidate to be France’s premier philosopher and intellectual (Kelly, 2010). He was the most cited scholar in the humanities from 2000-2010 (Kelly, 2010; The Most ..., 2009). Philosophy was an equally unlikely course of study for Foucault and deciding to pursue it rather than medicine caused a rift between father and son that would prompt Foucault to drop the first part of his name “Paul” which was the name of his father “Paul-André Foucault”, a prominent surgeon and his paternal grandfather “Paul Foucault” also medical doctor (Kelly, 2010; Foucault, Michel, 2011). Despite also Foucault’s younger brother and maternal grandfather being physicians, Foucault surprised his family by pursuing studies in psychology and philosophy in France’s eminent philosophy college École Normale Supérieure. He was known as an ardent student who argued his ideas among other well established philosophers. Foucault frequently locked horns with other famous philosophers such as Derrida (a former psychology student of his), and Jean-Paul Sartre, who was already a well-established philosopher being a teacher in and around École Normale Supérieure during Foucault’s student years there. Despite excelling in philosophy and, Foucault thought of himself as a
Philo 300A Postmodernism
Michel Foucault (1926– 1984), A Biography & Examination of His Theories
“Anyway, my personal life is not at all interesting. If somebody thinks that my work cannot be understood without reference to such and such a part of my life, I accept to consider the question. I am ready to answer if I agree. As far as my personal life is uninteresting, it is not worthwhile making a secret of it. By the same token, it may not be worthwhile publicizing it.”
Michel Foucault, an Interview with Stephen Riggins, Toronto, 1982. (Foucault, 2008)
Born Paul-Michel Foucault in 1926 in Poitiers in western France, Michel Foucault was a very unlikely candidate to be France’s premier philosopher and intellectual (Kelly, 2010). He was the most cited scholar in the humanities from 2000-2010 (Kelly, 2010; The Most ..., 2009). Philosophy was an equally unlikely course of study for Foucault and deciding to pursue it rather than medicine caused a rift between father and son that would prompt Foucault to drop the first part of his name “Paul” which was the name of his father “Paul-André Foucault”, a prominent surgeon and his paternal grandfather “Paul Foucault” also medical doctor (Kelly, 2010; Foucault, Michel, 2011). Despite also Foucault’s younger brother and maternal grandfather being physicians, Foucault surprised his family by pursuing studies in psychology and philosophy in France’s eminent philosophy college École Normale Supérieure. He was known as an ardent student who argued his ideas among other well established philosophers. Foucault frequently locked horns with other famous philosophers such as Derrida (a former psychology student of his), and Jean-Paul Sartre, who was already a well-established philosopher being a teacher in and around École Normale Supérieure during Foucault’s student years there. Despite excelling in philosophy and, Foucault thought of himself as a
Bibliography: Foucault (2008) Michel Foucault: Retrospective View. Retrieved December 01, 2012 from FOUCAULT.INFO: http://foucault.info/foucault/biography.html Foucault, Michel. (2011). Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Foucault, Michel. (2008, September 17). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved December 01, 2012 from Stanford University Metaphysics Research Lab: Kelly, M. (2010, November 11). “Michel Foucault,” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: A peer-reviewed academic resource Retrieved December 01, 2012 from http://www.michel-foucault.com/bibmf/mfbiblio.pdf Lynch, R.A. (2008, July 21). Michel Foucault 's shorter works in English. Foucault Studies, Wabash College foucault.com. Home page.. Retrieved December 01, 2012 from michel-foucault.com: http://www.michel-foucault.com/index.html O’Farrell, C Blackwell. Oxford, 1986 The Most Cited Author of Books in the Humanities 01, 2012 from timeshighereducation.co.uk: http://timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=405956§ioncode=26