Michel Foucault

An examination of the relation between war and politics, by one of the twentieth century's most influential thinkers From 1971 until 1984 at the Coll ge de France, Michel Foucault gave a series of lectures ranging freely and conversationally over the range of his research. In Society Must Be Defended, Foucault deals with the emergence in the early seventeenth century of a new understanding of war as the permanent basis of all institutions of power, a hidden presence within society that could be deciphered by an historical analysis. Tracing this development, Foucault outlines the genealogy of power and knowledge that had become his dominant concern.

Oversat fra ´Histoire de la folie à l'âge classique´ i udgaven fra Editions Gallimard 1976. Oversættelsen følger komplet den i dag autoriserede udgave fra 1972/76 og er derfor tre gange så fyldig som den engelske og norske version. Dertil kommer Anders Fogh Jensens introduktion, der redegør for andre sider af værkets historie, karakter og betydning." Galskabens historie" er en ´forbilledlig´ historie om disciplinering, klassifikation og en sær blanding af straf/udstødelse og terapi/human behandling. Dén historie slutter i Foucaults regi i begyndelsen af 1800-tallet, hvor den moderne psykologi og psykiatri tager over og tolker (og behandler) videre på den grænsekategori, som galskaben altid er. Deraf følger det andet store perspektiv i denne skelsættende og omdiskuterede afhandling, der kom tilpas til at give antipsykiatrien (Laing & Cooper) et vældigt løft: nemlig den tematisering af galskab vs. normalitet, der egentlig relaterer sig til René Descartes' ´cogito ergo sum´, dvs. idealet om det rationelle, selvberoende subjekt, der qua fornuften har styr på sig selv og derfor overbevisende kan tage vare på fremskridtet osv. I lyset heraf ser det ud til, at de gale - og galskaben - skal være den modposition, man kan prygle, indespærre og især italesætte, så det bliver tydeligt, hvor kulturen vil hen. De gale er således med til at fortælle en stor historie om oplysningens projekt, og galskabens historie fungerer som modbillede til den historie om det oplyste, autonome individ, vi selv forstår os som en del af. Bogen er oversat af Mogens Chrom Jacobsen. Indledningen er skrevet af Anders Fogh Jensen.

The essential one-volume collection of Michel Foucault’s letters, lectures, and interviews, tracing the evolution of the eminent and groundbreaking philosopher’s thought throughout his life“A rare opportunity to see how a great and original mind produces its work as well as itself at the same time. . . . Foucault’s work . . . leaves no reader untouched or unchanged.” —Edward Said, The New York Times Book ReviewFew philosophers have had as significant an impact on contemporary thought as Michel Foucault. His complete uncollected writings, under the title Dits et écrits, were published in French in 1994; this was followed by a three-volume series from The New Press that brought the most important of these works—courses, articles, and personal letters, many of them translated into English for the first time—to American readers. Here, the renowned Foucault scholars Paul Rabinow and Nikolas Rose have collected the best pieces from the three-volume set into a one-volume anthology in which Foucault’s dazzling intellect and gift for language are on full display. The Essential Foucault, which features a provocative introduction by Rabinow and Rose, is certain to become the standard text for all those interested in a comprehensive overview of Foucault’s thought.

In this remarkable book Michel Foucault, one of the most influential thinkers of recent times, calls us to look critically at specific historical events in order to uncover new layers of significance. In doing so, he challenges our assumptions not only about history, but also about the nature of language and reason, even of truth. The scope of such an undertaking is vast, but by means of his uniquely engaging narrative style, Foucault’s penetrating gaze is skilfully able to confront our own. After reading his words our perceptions are never quite the same again.

In France, a country that awards its intellectuals the status other countries give their rock stars, Michel Foucault was part of a glittering generation of thinkers, one which also included Sartre, de Beauvoir and Deleuze. One of the great intellectual heroes of the twentieth century, Foucault was a man whose passion and reason were at the service of nearly every progressive cause of his time. From law and order, to mental health, to power and knowledge, he spearheaded public awareness of the dynamics that hold us all in thrall to a few powerful ideologies and interests. Arguably his finest work, Archaeology of Knowledge is a challenging but fantastically rewarding introduction to his ideas.

In France, a country that awards its intellectuals the status other countries give their rock stars, Michel Foucault was part of a glittering generation of thinkers, one which also included Sartre, de Beauvoir and Deleuze. One of the great intellectual heroes of the twentieth century, Foucault was a man whose passion and reason were at the service of nearly every progressive cause of his time. From law and order, to mental health, to power and knowledge, he spearheaded public awareness of the dynamics that hold us all in thrall to a few powerful ideologies and interests. Arguably his finest work, Archaeology of Knowledge is a challenging but fantastically rewarding introduction to his ideas.

"Overvågning og straf" er Michel Foucaults kendte undersøgelse af straffens forvandling fra skafot til fængsel. Den pointe, som værket er bedst kendt for i den bredere offentlighed er, at vi gennem fængslet selv skaber de forbrydere, vi har brug for. Gennem fængsling vedligeholder vi en disciplinering, snarere end at vi løser et problem. Hele samfundets påvirkes af ændringen fra spektakulære henrettelser til de snilde opbevaringer i slusehuse med resocialiseringsprogrammer. Udviklingen er ikke sket på grund af humanisme, snarere på grund af et behov for mere og mere differentieret disciplinering." Overvågning og straf" åbner op for debat og diskussion om fængslet og fængslingers roller i samfundet. Bogen er oversat af Mogens Chrom Jacobsen og forsynet med indledning af Anders Fogh Jensen.

I det andra bandet av Sexualitetens historia behandlar Foucault den grekiska senantiken. De källor han främst bygger på är Xenofon, Platon och Aristoteles och frågeställningarna gäller hur den grekiska filosofin betraktade sexuallivet som område för uppskattning och etiska ställningstaganden. Foucault klargör hur begreppet sexualitet, så som vi använder det, är ett sentida påfund, myntat först i början av 1800-talet, och han hävdar att det är svårt att finna ett likartat begrepp hos grekerna. Grekerna använde dock ett begrepp, afrodisia, om något man grovt skulle kunna säga omfattar »njutning i kärlek», och detta afrodisia blir en nyckelterm i Foucaults undersökning. Foucaults diskussion kring afrodisia blott-lägger hur begreppet konstitueras som en domän för moralisk omsorg. Genom själva begreppet afrodisia anser Foucault att man kan närma sig en förståelse av det som i det sexuella beteendet erkändes som »etisk substans».

När Michel Foucault dog 1984, 57 år gammal, var han en av de mest betydelsefulla och kontroversiella personerna i den intellektuella världen. Med arbeten som Vansinnets historia, Vetandets arkeologi och Övervakning och straff hade han skaffat sig en självständig ställning och ett ansenligt inflytande. Han var lärd, orädd och politiskt aktivt. "Sexualitetens historia" (i tre band) kom att bli hans sista verk. Utgångspunkten för det första bandet, Viljan att veta, är varför vi så insisterande hävdar att vi är sexuellt förtryckta. Foucault analyserar de ideologiska faktorer som genomsyrat maktens tal om sexualiteten. En förutsättning i det talet är att det finns en sanning att uppdaga om sexualiteten i oss och att den kan framträda i bekännelsens form. Makten vill veta, och den lyckas inte sällan göra sin vilja till vår egen. Från att ha betraktat sexualiteten som syndfull talar människan nu skuldtyngd om att hon borde bli mer frigjord. Det är detta spel mellan makt och vetande som Foucault undersöker, och han hävdar att det inte resulterat i vad makten avsett – en kontrollerbar sexualitet. Sexualiseringen har funnit nya, mångfaldiga uttrycksvägar via den väv av njutning-makt som den monogamt heterosexuella familjens privilegierade ställning givit tillgång till.

Epikuréerna och stoikerna utvecklade en levnadskonst som kretsade kring självomsorgen och som ledde till en omdaning av sexualetiken. Äktenskapet lyftes fram som den bästa ramen för sexuallivet och gossekärleken nedvärderades. Individen trädde fram som moraliskt subjekt och underlades strängare moraliska krav. Inte så att upplevelsen av njutning sattes i direkt förbindelse med det onda, måste lyda en gudomlig lag eller skärskådas och bekännas, men själva frågan om det onda började, enligt Foucault, nu ta form, uppmärksamheten på lagen trängde undan levnadskonsten och beredde vägen för en asketisk livshållning.

When one defines "order" as a sorting of priorities, it becomes beautifully clear as to what Foucault is doing here. With virtuoso showmanship, he weaves an intensely complex history of thought. He dips into literature, art, economics and even biology in The Order of Things, possibly one of the most significant, yet most overlooked, works of the twentieth century. Eclipsed by his later work on power and discourse, nonetheless it was The Order of Things that established Foucault's reputation as an intellectual giant. Pirouetting around the outer edge of language, Foucault unsettles the surface of literary writing. In describing the limitations of our usual taxonomies, he opens the door onto a whole new system of thought, one ripe with what he calls "exotic charm". Intellectual pyrotechnics from the master of critical thinking, this book is crucial reading for those who wish to gain insight into that odd beast called Postmodernism, and a must for any fan of Foucault.

When one defines "order" as a sorting of priorities, it becomes beautifully clear as to what Foucault is doing here. With virtuoso showmanship, he weaves an intensely complex history of thought. He dips into literature, art, economics and even biology in The Order of Things, possibly one of the most significant, yet most overlooked, works of the twentieth century. Eclipsed by his later work on power and discourse, nonetheless it was The Order of Things that established Foucault's reputation as an intellectual giant. Pirouetting around the outer edge of language, Foucault unsettles the surface of literary writing. In describing the limitations of our usual taxonomies, he opens the door onto a whole new system of thought, one ripe with what he calls "exotic charm". Intellectual pyrotechnics from the master of critical thinking, this book is crucial reading for those who wish to gain insight into that odd beast called Postmodernism, and a must for any fan of Foucault.

Part of the definitive collection of Michel Foucault's articles, interviews, and seminars, this volume lays out the philosopher's influential thinking on the machinations of power in society"A rare opportunity to see how a great and original mind produces its work as well as itself at the same time. . . . Foucault's work . . . leaves no reader untouched or unchanged." --Edward Said, The New York Times Book ReviewPower draws together Michel Foucault's contributions to what he saw as the still-underdeveloped practice of political analysis. It covers the domains Foucault helped to make part of the core agenda of Western political culture--medicine, psychiatry, the penal system, sexuality--illuminating and expanding on the themes of The Birth of the Clinic, Discipline and Punish, and the first volume of The History of Sexuality. Power includes previously unpublished lectures, later writings highlighting Foucault's revolutionary analysis of the politics of personal conduct and freedom, interviews, and letters that illuminate Foucault's own political activism.

In this classic account of madness, Michel Foucault shows once and for all why he is one of the most distinguished European philosophers since the end of World War II. Madness and Civilization,Foucault's first book and his finest accomplishment, will change the way in which you think about society. Evoking shock, pity and fascination, it might also make you question the way you think about yourself.

In this classic account of madness, Michel Foucault shows once and for all why he is one of the most distinguished European philosophers since the end of World War II. Madness and Civilization,Foucault's first book and his finest accomplishment, will change the way in which you think about society. Evoking shock, pity and fascination, it might also make you question the way you think about yourself.

Major study in literary theory, criticism and psychology.