Freedom of conscience entails more dangers than authority and despotism. freedom
Justice must always question itself, just as society can exist only by means of the work it does on itself and on its institutions. society
Michel Foucault Philosopher
- Gender: Male
- Citizenship: France
- Born: Oct 15, 1926
- Died: Jun 25, 1984
Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, social theorist, philologist and literary critic. His theories addressed the relationship between power and knowledge, and how they are used as a form of social control through societal institutions. Though often cited as a post-structuralist and postmodernist, Foucault rejected these labels, preferring to present his thought as a critical history of modernity. His thought has been highly influential for both academic and activist groups.
Born in Poitiers, France to an upper-middle-class family, Foucault was educated at the Lycée Henri-IV and then the École Normale Supérieure, where he developed an interest in philosophy and came under the influence of his tutors Jean Hyppolite and Louis Althusser. After several years as a cultural diplomat abroad, he returned to France and published his first major book, The History of Madness.