Michel Foucault was a French philosopher who is best known for his work on the history of human sexuality.
His most famous books, Discipline and Punish and The History of Sexuality, have become required reading for students of sociology, cultural studies and political theory. Foucault’s work remains relevant today in part because he was one of the first intellectuals to confront the rise of neoliberalism in Western countries like France, Britain and the United States.
Philosopher was born in Poitiers, France on October 15, 1926. His father was an agriculturalist who worked as a tax collector at the local government office (the hôtel de ville) where Michel spent much of his childhood.
As a child, Foucault had a relatively privileged upbringing compared to many other people living in France during World War II (1939-1945), but he suffered from chronic asthma which limited his physical activity. This condition would cause him considerable discomfort throughout his life.
Foucault’s early works focused on the relationship between knowledge and power, which he argued is far more complex than most people think. His later works focused more on issues of personal identity, including madness and mental illness as well as sexuality. Foucault’s work has had a major influence on many other thinkers and writers, including Judith Butler and Jacques Derrida. In 1984 he died from AIDS-related complications at age 58.
