Starting With Foucault: An Introduction to Geneaology

by C.G. Prado

Michel Foucault had a great influence upon a wide range of disciplines, and his work has been widely interpreted and is frequently referred to, but it is often difficult for beginners to find their way into the complexities of his thought. This is especially true for readers whose background is Anglo-American or "analytic" philosophy. C. G. Prado argues in this updated introduction that the time is overdue for Anglo-American philosophers to avail themselves of what Foucault offers. In this clear and greatly-revised second edition, Prado focuses on Foucault's "middle" or genealogical work, particularly Discipline and Punish and Volume One of The History of Sexuality, in which Foucault most clearly comes to grips with the historicization of truth and knowledge and the formation of subjectivity. Understanding Foucault's thought on these difficult subjects requires working through much complexity and ambiguity, and Prado's direct and accessible introduction is the ideal place to start.

Genres: Philosophy, Modern, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 1995

Reviews

[Richard Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prado sets out with this book to write an introduction to Foucault for those who are more familiar with analytic philosophy. "Introduction" is one of those words that has to be taken with a pinch of salt when used in philosophical books - introductory for whom is always a good question in response.

I have had limited exposure to Foucault before, but have always been interested and intending to read more. Prior to reading this book I had the view that Foucault was original, contentious, challenging, and requiring effort to get ones head around. Having completed this book I don't feel much different. I do have a slightly deeper understanding, but much is still opaque if not completely unclear! But still Prado makes a valiant attempt at explaining Foucault, and back to that question of "introduction" - well it's certainly not for a complete philosophical beginner. This is not really tricky as some philosophical texts are, but its hardly a light read. However, it was enough to make we want to understand more.

It focuses on several common Foucaultian subjects - such as the creation of subjects, power, and of course truth, and it reflects and refers to two of Foucault's major books - The History of Sexuality volume 1 and Discipline and Punishment. At this point in time, I have read no other books on Foucault so I can't say if this is one of the better introductions or not. I suspect there are others, and unless you have some background in analytic philsophy you might want to try elsewhere. If you do and you are interested in Foucault, (many analytic philosophers are not), then why not give it a go?

[Sam Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew! This book was a great intro to Foucault, geneaologically and otherwise. I borrowed it from a friend, but now I'm going to hunt it down and buy it so that I can read it another two or three times and scribble notes in the margins. Which is not to say that two or three reads are necessary to understand this; no, this book is straightforward and clear, it's just that my brain needs more than a week to really swallow everything he's saying.

[Neil Turner]

One of the best books for beginning to understand Foucault. He has quite a grasp on Foucault's ideas.