Foucault and Philosophy

One of the most influential contemporary thinkers, Michel Foucault produced a complex body of work across a wide range of academic disciplines. Foucault and Philosophy presents a collection of thought provoking essays that explore Foucault’s writings as a philosopher — both in relation to philosophers who were important to him and in the context of a range of significant themes and areas of dispute in contemporary philosophy.

Foucault’s personal philosophical development and his contributions to a broader field of philosophical reflection are revealed through a series of thematically arranged contributions from an international cast of distinguished philosophers and leading Foucault scholars. Foucault’s philosophical development is first traced through essays that place him in the context of his relationship to ancient philosophy, phenomenology, Marxism, structuralism; and to figures such as Kant, Heidegger, Nietzsche, Habermas, and others. Further essays then evaluate the major contribution of Foucault’s thought to some of the central philosophical problems of our time, including freedom, knowledge, subjectivity, ethics, power, and the nature of philosophy itself.

With the 25th anniversary of Foucault’s death upon us, Foucault and Philosophy offers a timely and invaluable scholarly reconsideration of the philosophical development and legacy of a controversial and iconic figure of 20th-century thought.

Timothy O’Leary teaches Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. He has published widely on Foucault, especially in relation to ethics and literature. He is the author of Foucault and the Art of Ethics (2002, 2006) and Foucault and Fiction: The Experience Book (2009).

Christopher Falzon is a lecturer in Philosophy at The University of Newcastle. He is the author of Foucault and Social Dialogue (1998) and Philosophy Goes to the Movies (2002).