The Philosophy of the Early Foucault (1949-1955)

Abstract

This thesis presents a contextual analysis and close-reading of five texts by Michel Foucault, written between 1949 and 1955. Here, I draw on recent scholarly interest surrounding this early period of Foucault’s career, as well as consulting some of Foucault’s unpublished and untranslated texts. Much scholarship on Foucault’s early career has shown the similarity between his thought and that of his teachers, as well as the conceptual continuities between earlier and later writings. Contrastingly, my contextual analysis highlights the differences between the early Foucault and his teachers, and the difference between Foucault’s earlier and more mature thought. This allows for a fruitful reading of Foucault’s ideas in the 1950’s, which are revealed to be quite distinct from those of his later work. Here, we encounter a series of challenging thoughts on the limits of language, the ineffability of experience, the redundancy of ethical discourse and the insurmountable disjunction between history and reality. The broader significance of these readings is that they may inform a more general re-evaluation of Foucault’s oeuvre: one which acknowledges the contextual specificity of Foucault’s writings as discontinuous with those of contemporary political-philosophical perspectives.