* Michel Foucault: Critiqued the modern conception of power on the basis of the prison complex and other prohibitive institutions, such as those that designate sexuality, madness and knowledge as the roots of their infrastructure, a critique which then demonstrated that subjection is the power formation of subjects in any linguistic forum and that revolution cannot just be thought as the reversal of power between classes.

Born into a middle-class family in Poitiers, Foucault was educated at the Lycée Henri-IV and then the École Normale Supérieure, where he developed a keen interest in philosophy and came under the influence of his tutors Jean Hyppolite and Louis Althusser.

Hyppolite devoted his energies to uniting the existentialist theories then in vogue among French philosophers with the dialectical theories of Hegel and Karl Marx ( 1818 – 1883 ); these ideas influenced the young Foucault, who would adopt Hyppolite's conviction that philosophy must be developed through a study of history.

In the summer of 1983, he noticed that he had a persistent dry cough ; friends in Paris became concerned that he may have contracted the HIV / AIDS virus then sweeping the San Francisco gay population, but Foucault insisted that he had nothing more than a pulmonary infection that would clear up when he spent the autumn of 1983 in California.

Foucault then inquires how such a change in French society's punishment of convicts could have developed in such a short time.

Foucault proceeds to examine how the confession of sexuality then came to be " constituted in scientific terms ", arguing that scientists began to trace the cause of all aspects of human psychology and society to sexual factors.

In the second and third volumes of The History of Sexuality, namely, The Use of Pleasure ( 1984 ) and The Care of the Self ( 1984 ), and in his lecture on " Technologies of the Self " ( 1982 ), Foucault elaborated a distinction between subjectivation and forms of subjectification by exploring how selves were fashioned and then lived in ways which were both heteronomously and autonomously determined.

The dildo was academically analyzed in a paper presented at the 1995 Bowling Green State University Conference in Cultural Studies: Lesbian Pornography and Transformation: Foucault, Bourdieu, and de Certeau Make Sense of the Jeff Stryker Dildo, by Mary T. Conway, then a graduate student at Temple University.

He also co-authored Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics, translated Merleau-Ponty's Sense and Non-Sense, and authored the controversial 1972 book What Computers Can't Do, revised first in 1979, and then again in 1992 with a new introduction as What Computers Still Can't Do.

" The problem for Foucault is in some sense a theoretical modeling which posits a soul, an identity ( the use of soul being fortunate since ' identity ' or ' name ' would not properly express the method of subjection — e. g., if mere materiality were used as a way of tracking individuals then the method of punishment would not have switched from torture to psychiatry ) which allows a whole materiality of prison to develop.

Foucault then goes on further to investigate what was the reasoning behind this modern biopolitical state racism.

Unfortunately, from the classical standpoint investigative work is viewed upon as having difficulty to interpret ; data with no end product isolating power and then man, as either in a position of interpretation by the classical theorists as the final conclusion or man having anthropological characteristics with ancient relic features borrowed from the Pleistocene era which have never altered with additional evolutionary, cultural and biological salient features rather than having a real historical and social character involved. Or to investigate critically this power, with man and his involvement with his interactions with the environment making it impossible to have any rigorous explanation or conclusions. Political systems, or knowledge systems in general, from the classical perspective, become too large to be comprehended interpreting the environment of man as an anachronism ; information and data produced surrounding man as poorly understood viewing historical information as having no, or absence of history. Obviously from the classical point of view, modern research methods ( all from " Social sciences, Sociology, Humanities ") cannot be used to penetrate observation leaving gaps in our knowledge and an accepted taken for granted approach to any analysis. Foucault views this as the exact opposite of rational analysis, with its operations ( power ) as nothing more than a series of contingencies and networks.

Foucault then develops a holistic account of power and uses methods not too dissimilar to the astonishing and outstanding Medieval Islamic polymaths scholars Alhazen, Ibn Sīnā, and Ibn Khaldūn and to a lesser extant prominent science figures from 20th century science such as ; Gregory Bateson, James Lovelock ( the founder of Gaia hypothesis ) and Robert N. Proctor ( Proctor who coined the term Agnotology ) and urges us to think outside the box of this new kind of power, therefore, opening up the possibilities of further investigations into this new perceived, impenetrable nature of biopower and according to Foucault he asks us to remember, this type of power is never neutral nor is it independent from the rest of society but are embedded within society functioning as embellished ' control technology ' specifics. Foucault argues ; nation states, police, government, legal practices, human sciences and medical institutions have their own rationale, cause and effects, strategies, technologies, mechanisms and codes and have managed successfully in the past to obscure there workings by hiding behind observation and scrutiny.

Although Michel Foucault is the name primarily associated with the concept of biopower and bio-politics, the term Biopolitics was in fact used tentatively in 1911 when the magazine The New Age published the article " Biopolitics " by G. W. Harris and then reused in 1938 by Morley Roberts ( 1857 – 1942 ) in his book Biopolitics.

Foucault then offers from his lectures his conclusions from both the schools of thought of the twentieth century from this time ; neo-liberalism, German ordoliberalism ( the Freiburg School ) and the Chicago school ( sociology ).

Foucault then takes on the concept into a different direction by positioning it between biological processes, the control of human populations through political means ; government, management and Social organization ; through work, the labor force and the ruthless efficiency of the organization of money through the International monetary systems of whole human populations ( bio ) and politics ( polis ), this is essentially Foucault's meaning of biopolitics ; human biology and its amalgamation with politics.

The industrial working population which comprises the overwhelming majority of human populations anywhere in the world, in a wider context unwittingly there must be at least seen, essentially a systematic position however clandestinely operated, without disruption taking place of economic productivity and activity which still has to take place in a smooth, transitory and unfussy way this then takes on a new meaning Foucault offers us a chilling reminder of those who take part, through no fault of their own, in this involuntary naive complicity he introduces to us the concept of Homo economicus ( economic man )

Foucault then briefly touches on B F Skinner ; ( the founder of radical behaviorism ), and Robert Castel but unfortunately it is very brief however, in Foucault's defence, he himself does admit ' there is little literature ' available in France on these techniques, however, to be critical, Foucault did belong to the most prestigious academic institutions in Europe ( Collège de France ) with unprecedented access to many journals in France and it would be unlikely that they would be unavailable to him.

It is clear then that any standard neuroscience journal will show you this, it is not the body but the mind, as is often thought by Foucault and the postmodernism movement, both thought that the body ( not the mind ), an often repeated mistake a simple mistake, but a crucial one.

Foucault then notices that this art of government were internal to society itself, not external, this type of self-government was practiced right throughout European society ; such as Italy, Germany, France, etc.

Foucault then reads into Robert Castel's work ; The Psychiatric Order, an essential read according to Foucault, where the techniques were finally finalised during the 18th century of this absolute global project which was directed towards the whole of society.

However, Foucault situates this type of pastoral power squarely onto the new founded Christian Church where an organized religion ruled an entire society politically for 1500 years.

Michel Foucault, for example, argued that attitudes towards the " insane " during the late-18th and early 19th centuries show that supposedly enlightened notions of humane treatment were not universally adhered to, but instead, that the Age of Reason had to construct an image of " Unreason " against which to take an opposing stand.

In 1977, British psychiatrist David Cooper asked Michel Foucault the same question which Claude Bourdet had formerly asked Viktor Fainberg during a press conference given by Fainberg and Plyushch: when the USSR has the whole penitentiary and police apparatus, which could take charge of anybody, and which is perfect in itself, why do they use psychiatry?

Foucault argues that the law was considered an extension of the sovereign's body, and so the revenge must take the form of harming the convict's body.

# Drop the Apple-At the Smithsonian, we learn of electric crystals that help Pierre and Marie Curie discover what they call radium, and then Langevin uses the piezo-electric crystal to develop sonar that helps save liberty ships ( from German U-boats ) put together with welding techniques using acetylene made with carbon arcs, also working the arc lights with clockwork regulators built by Foucault, whose pendulum helps him to take pictures of solar eclipses.

French physicists Jean Foucault and Armand Fizeau take the first detailed photographs of the Sun's surface through a telescope-the birth of scientific astrophotography.

Literary critics Barthes and Foucault suggest that readers should not rely on or look for the notion of one overarching voice when interpreting a written work, because of the complications inherent with a writer's title of " author.

While, theoretically relying on Michel Foucault ’ s theory of discipline and governmentality, as well as related insights in the social control literature, this paper examines Project Carnivore relative to the larger context of state rationality and related privacy issues.

In direct contradiction to what have been typified as Modernist perspectives on epistemology, Foucault asserted that rational judgment, social practice and what he called ' biopower ' are not only inseparable but co-determinant.

Instead, Foucault focused on the ways in which such constructs can foster cultural hegemony, violence and exclusion.

In this latter field, R. D. Laing, Thomas Szasz and Michel Foucault were instrumental in moving medicine away from emphasis on " cures " and towards concepts of individuals in balance with their society, both of which are changing, and against which no benchmarks or finished " cures " were very likely to be measurable.

* Information on Michel Foucault, including an archive of writings and lectures

Drawing on Michel Foucault ’ s concept of liberal government, Tony Bennett has suggested the development of more modern 19th century museums was part of new strategies by Western governments to produce a citizenry that, rather than be directed by coercive or external forces, monitored and regulated its own conduct.

", Michel Foucault proposed a concept of critique based on Kant's distinction between " private " and " public " uses of reason.

Foucault is best known for his critical studies of social institutions, most notably psychiatry, social anthropology of medicine, the human sciences, and the prison system, as well as for his work on the history of human sexuality.

Paul-Michel Foucault was born on 15 October 1926 in the small town of Poitiers, west-central France, as the second of three children to a prosperous and socially conservative upper-middle-class family.

He had been named after his father, Dr. Paul Foucault, as was the family tradition, but his mother insisted on the addition of the double-barrelled " Michel "; while he would always be referred to as " Paul " at school, throughout his life he always expressed a preference for " Michel ".

Of the hundred students entering the ENS, Foucault was ranked fourth based on his entry results, and encountered the highly competitive nature of the institution.

A Marxist, he proved to be an influence both on Foucault and a number of other students, encouraging them to join the French Communist Party ( Parti communiste français-PCF ), which Foucault duly did in 1950.

Over the following few years, Foucault embarked on a variety of odd jobs in research and teaching.

In August 1953, Foucault and Barraqué went on a holiday to Italy, where the philosopher immersed himself in Untimely Meditations ( 1873 – 1876 ), a collection of four essays authored by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche ( 1844 – 1900 ).

In Uppsala, Foucault spent much of his spare time in the university's Carolina Rediviva library, where he made use of their Bibliotheca Walleriana collection of texts on the history of medicine for his ongoing research.

One of these turned out to be a Polish government agent who hoped to trap Foucault in an embarrassing situation, which would therefore reflect badly on the French embassy.

Derrida's critique came in the form of a lecture he gave on " The Cogito and the History of Madness " at the University of Paris on 4 March 1963, accusing Foucault of advocating metaphysics.

Responding to the criticism with a vicious retort, Foucault ignored some of Derrida's points, focusing in on a criticism of how the younger philosopher had interpreted the work of René Descartes.

While his doctorate was being assessed, in 1960 Foucault purchased his first flat, a part of a high-rise block on the rue du Dr Finlay, off the quai de Grenelle.

Aside from his teaching, Foucault also maintained a keen interest in literature, having reviews published in such literary journals as Tel Quel and Nouvelle Revue Française, and sitting on the editorial board of Critique.

Foucault in this period embarked on a six-volume project The History of Sexuality, which he never completed.