Foucault, Gary Gutting
Foucault, Gary Gutting
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Foucault
A Very Short Introduction, 2nd edition

Author: Gary Gutting

Narrator: David de Vries

Unabridged: 3 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/31/2021


Synopsis

Born in 1926 in France, Foucault is one of those rare philosophers who has become a cult figure. Over the course of his life he dabbled in drugs, politics, and the Paris SM scene, all whilst striving to understand the deep concepts of identity, knowledge, and power. From aesthetics to the penal system; from madness and civilization to avant-garde literature, Foucault was happy to reject old models of thinking and replace them with versions that are still widely debated today. A major influence on Queer Theory and gender studies (he was openly gay and died of an AIDS-related illness in 1984), he also wrote on architecture, history, law, medicine, literature, politics, and of course philosophy.

In this Very Short Introduction Gary Gutting presents a wide-ranging but non-systematic exploration of some highlights of Foucault's life and thought. Beginning with a brief biography to set the social and political stage, he then tackles Foucault's thoughts on literature, in particular the avant-garde scene; his philosophical and historical work; his treatment of knowledge and power in modern society; and his thoughts on sexuality. This new edition includes feminist criticisms of Foucault's apparently sexist treatment of the Jouy case, as well as a new chapter offering a unified overview of the College de France lectures, now a major focus of interest in Foucault.

About Gary Gutting

Gary Gutting is John A. O'Brien Chair in Philosophy (Emeritus) at the University of Notre Dame, and is considered a leading expert on Foucault. Since the first edition of the Foucault VSI was published he has written many books, including Thinking the Impossible: French Philosophy Since 1960 and What Philosophers Know: Case Studies in Recent Analytic Philosophy.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Riku on February 10, 2014

The Epistemology of Suspicion Always resisting categories, obfuscating himself - decoding the writings of Foucault is obviously a tough challenge. This VSI makes an admirable attempt and in the end at least provides us with a glimpse at the intricacy and elegance of the many arguments and the fin......more

Goodreads review by Daniel on August 26, 2019

As a young thinker, I found Foucault's writing both highly engaging (in an aesthetic way) and thought-provoking (in a critical philosophical way). I found myself reading his work just as a young comic mind study the works of Monty Python. Foucault was both mainstream and yet just a bit too cool for......more

Goodreads review by Nathan on March 27, 2013

Struggled a little with this one. I'm aware that Foucault's work isn't the most approachable, hence why I chose a very short introduction to ease me in. Regardless, perhaps it's something in the way Gary Gutting writes, but I found it difficult to keep concentration. I'd read a paragraph and have to......more

Goodreads review by Kamil on February 06, 2017

Not the easiest introduction but Foucault is not easy. Later chapters regarding his works on sexuality and prison were more accessible then earlier ones. Nonetheless it definitely was a good gymnastic of my mind.......more