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.
Archaeology of Knowledge (Routledge Classics)
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'Next to Sartre's Search for a Method and in direct opposition to it, Foucault's work is the most noteworthy effort at a theory of history in the last 50 years.' - Library Journal
About the Author
Michel Foucault (1926-84). Celebrated French thinker and activist who challenged people's assumptions about care of the mentally ill, gay rights, prisons, the police and welfare.
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64 of 72 people found the following review helpful
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Format:Paperback
The Archaeology of Knowledge is a very heavy going but very stimulating read. As ever Foucault's analysis is groundbreaking, as it is a completely new way of deciphering the subject of discourse.
Instead of embarking on a history of ideas he dismisses this concept and instead gives an archaeological account of knowledge, which he believes breaks up the teleological version of progressive knowledge put forward by (Whig) historians. He suggests that there is no ideal discourse and thus treats all discourses as products of their own time without trying to pass moral or intellectual judgement on their nature or content.
Foucault postulates that because all discourses are products of their own epochs 'our' discourse, the liberal discourse of Man (as the focal point of the universe), will one day die too. Reinforcing the conclusion he made at the end of probably his greatest work 'The Order of things'.
One thing is for sure, as with all his works, Foucault will make you, stop, think, and reanalyse the way you look at things. He is truly the master at doing that.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In spite of its relatively modest size and the neglect it has suffered, 'The Archeology of Knowledge' is one of Foucault's most rewarding texts. Not only is it a brilliant exploration of the our current understanding of the concept of knowledge and its relationship to power, but it also captures a unique moment in modern intellectual history, when Foucault broke with the traditions of Structuralism, to begin the researches which were to lead to his 'late' period works. A must!!!
Format:Paperback
To be taken in snips rather than digested as a hearty meal, this offering when fully imbibed is academic LSD and will alter your perception on how reality has been defined, promulgated and rendered. Foucault looks at how life has been made from hallucinations, guided fictions, an idea originally devised by Hans Vaihinger in his book "As if."
Whilst the desire for structure and meaning is the backbone of the mainframe academic discipline, this is created as a social pretence to fend off the meaningless of the universe. Foucault prods his stick into the structural facade in the same way as Stirner and Nietzsche, then watches it wobble. It not only wobbles but melts as he shows how academic reality is built on a brick by brick, handbuilt mirage, an academic Ponzi Scheme. Since publication, like Stirner it has gently been placed to one side as the eternal nativity play, of imbibing facts is enacted to lure the susceptible of £9k per annum whilst offering snake oil in return.
This however brings the Wizards of Oz back down with a bump and exposes the behind the scenes construction of the grand narrative. It introduces the discourse as a way of shaping the meaninglessness of life; birth death and the bit in between where we cling to causes and beliefs that all evapourate when we die.
Existential without the baggage, Nietzschean without the blond beast standing in the way, Stirneresque in its destruction of falsity. Foucault joins the duo to create a trio.
The back bone to any hand built and palm thrown philosophic dynamite.
Whilst the desire for structure and meaning is the backbone of the mainframe academic discipline, this is created as a social pretence to fend off the meaningless of the universe. Foucault prods his stick into the structural facade in the same way as Stirner and Nietzsche, then watches it wobble. It not only wobbles but melts as he shows how academic reality is built on a brick by brick, handbuilt mirage, an academic Ponzi Scheme. Since publication, like Stirner it has gently been placed to one side as the eternal nativity play, of imbibing facts is enacted to lure the susceptible of £9k per annum whilst offering snake oil in return.
This however brings the Wizards of Oz back down with a bump and exposes the behind the scenes construction of the grand narrative. It introduces the discourse as a way of shaping the meaninglessness of life; birth death and the bit in between where we cling to causes and beliefs that all evapourate when we die.
Existential without the baggage, Nietzschean without the blond beast standing in the way, Stirneresque in its destruction of falsity. Foucault joins the duo to create a trio.
The back bone to any hand built and palm thrown philosophic dynamite.
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Limits of being and the infinite in writing
When writing that we cannot write about a total grasp of history, Foucault limits the being in the outer surface of a problem of language, stating language itself as an outside for... Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2011 by Maria
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