Confessions of the Flesh: The History of Sexuality, Volume 4

The History of Sexuality #4

by Michel Foucault, Robert Hurley (Translator), Frédéric Gros (Editor)

The final major work by one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century

Foucault's History of Sexuality changed the way we think about power, selfhood and sexuality forever. Arguing that sexuality is profoundly shaped by the power structures applied to it, the series is one of his most important and far-reaching works. In this fourth and final volume, Foucault turns his attention to early Christianity, exploring how ancient ideas of pleasure were modified into the Christian notion of the 'flesh' - a transformation that would define the Western experience of sexuality and subjectivity.

Completed at Foucault's death, the manuscript of this volume was locked away in a bank vault for three decades. Now for the first time, the work is available to English-language readers as the author originally conceived it.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, History, France, Psychology, Theory, Sexuality

418 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 8, 2018

About the author

Paul-Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationships between power and knowledge, and how they are used as a form of social control through societal institutions. Though often cited as a structuralist and postmodernist, Foucault rejected these labels. His thought has influenced academics, especially those working in communication studies, anthropology, psychology, sociology, criminology, cultural studies, literary theory, feminism, Marxism and critical theory.
Born in Poitiers, France, into an upper-middle-class family, Foucault was educated at the Lycée Henri-IV, at the École Normale Supérieure, where he developed an interest in philosophy and came under the influence of his tutors Jean Hyppolite and Louis Althusser, and at the University of Paris (Sorbonne), where he earned degrees in philosophy and psychology. After several years as a cultural diplomat abroad, he returned to France and published his first major book, The History of Madness (1961). After obtaining work between 1960 and 1966 at the University of Clermont-Ferrand, he produced The Birth of the Clinic (1963) and The Order of Things (1966), publications that displayed his increasing involvement with structuralism, from which he later distanced himself. These first three histories exemplified a historiographical technique Foucault was developing called "archaeology".
From 1966 to 1968, Foucault lectured at the University of Tunis before returning to France, where he became head of the philosophy department at the new experimental university of Paris VIII. Foucault subsequently published The Archaeology of Knowledge (1969). In 1970, Foucault was admitted to the Collège de France, a membership he retained until his death. He also became active in several left-wing groups involved in campaigns against racism and human rights abuses and for penal reform. Foucault later published Discipline and Punish (1975) and The History of Sexuality (1976), in which he developed archaeological and genealogical methods that emphasized the role that power plays in society.
Foucault died in Paris from complications of HIV/AIDS; he became the first public figure in France to die from complications of the disease. His partner Daniel Defert founded the AIDES charity in his memory.

Reviews

[Prerna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adam and Eve
Sitting under a tree
K-I-S-S-I-N-G

Not just any tree though, but THE tree.

Then just came the fall, a burden that all of humanity has to bear till the end of time!! Or so they say. So much for sex.

I expected this book to be more about the ritual of confession within Christianity, regulatory practices and how it affected popular discourse on sex. No such luck. While there is a significant bit about confession, Christian power structures and 'the duty of truth', it mostly was an analysis of St Clement, St Chrysostom and St Augustine's writings on sexual practices, marriage, virginity, purity, baptism and blah blah blah. And maybe there were even more old people mentioned, but I wouldn't know. I was too bored to pay close attention. There's no doubting that Foucault was extremely well-read but I had no patience to cross-check any of his references and so just took his word for all of it.

I wanted to finish these four volumes on the history of sexuality in 2021 and then flex about it till I die. But now, I have to accept with some resentment that most of it was boring and unsatisfactory. I don't feel like showing off. There's no doubt that this collection was written with a lot of patience and after thorough research, but, I can't believe I'm saying this, it's very narrow. For a four-volume collection that claims to be a 'history of sexuality', there's a shocking lack of references to or studies of African and Asian theories of sexuality. Moreover, the presuppositions and the conclusions drawn here are incompatible with Asian and African histories of sexual culture. Foucault, you disappoint man.

[hayatem · Rating 5 out of 5]

الجزء الرابع والأخير من تاريخ الجنسانية "اعترافات اللحم "، الذي اكتمل قبل وفاته في عام 1984. وبعد 34 عاماً تم نشر المجلد الرابع والأخير.

Foucault writes in 1976, is the “fictitious unity” which sustains the “deployment of sexuality.”

“A NOTION OF the “Final Foucault” now circulates among Foucault scholars who seek to distinguish the investigations carried out by the philosopher in the eight years prior to his death, in June 1984, from those found in his earlier writings. This final period is said to begin in 1976, not long after the publication of the first volume of the History of Sexuality, when Foucault dramatically recast the initial project, unexpectedly shifting both its theme and chronology. For reasons still under debate, including recently in this publication, Foucault chose to abandon the idea of analyzing the historical formation of power and knowledge known as “sexuality” — discourses generated throughout the 18th and 19th centuries with the aim of correcting sex and ensuring its health — in order to focus instead on the myriad ways in which individuals have been compelled to recognize themselves as subjects of sexual desire.
These final years proved incredibly fruitful for Foucault, even if, at times, they were tinged with a sense of self-doubt. During this period, Foucault experimented relentlessly with different theoretical frameworks through which he could sustain an inquiry that would eventually grow to include both Greek and Roman philosophy, as well as the writings of early Church Fathers. Through the labor of these later theoretical innovations, Foucault would give birth to concepts now indispensable to the humanities and the social sciences; today, it seems difficult to imagine the existence of entire academic fields without his influence.” —Joseph Tanke

ضم المجلد مرحلتين:
في مرحلة أولى ( 1979-1982) لصالح إعادة تركيز الاهتمام باتجاه استشكال تاريخي للحم المسيحيّ - عبر " أفعال الحقيقية" الرئيسة ( اعتراف التوبة واعتراف الإرشاد)، فنون العذرية ومذهب الزواج عند الآباء المسيحيين للقرون الأولى-، ثم في مرحلة ثانية ( 1982-1984), انزياح باتجاه فنون العيش اليونانية- الرومانية والمكان الذي تحتله فيها اللّذات.”

و أوضح فوكو أن ما أثار اهتمامه هو "أفعال الحقيقة الانعكاسية" حيث يأتي المرء ليقول ، "هذا أنا" ، "هذا ما أنا عليه".

في هذا الجزء الأخير، تاريخياً، "يركز فوكو على إعادة تشكيل الذاتية التي قام بها الآباء المسيحيون الأوائل، الذين شرعوا في تحويل الشعارات الكلاسيكية للخطاب البشري الصادق إلى لاهوت - الكلمة الإلهية للسيادة المطلقة. "، ويقدم فوكو فحصًا معمقًا لشخصيات مثل : كليمنت الإسكندري (150-215)، أوريجانوس ( 184 -253) ، وجون ذهبي الفم (349-407)، إلى الآباء اللاتينيين الأوائل مثل ترتليان (155-222)، أمبروز (337-397) ، وجون كاسيان (360-435) من خلال والد الكنيسة العظيم القديس أغسطينوس من فرس النهر (354-430).

خصص فوكو جزء كبير من مادة الكتاب لتحليل عقيدة أوغسطين الكاملة عن الجسد ومفهومه المصاحب للرغبة الجنسية. اهتمام فوكو الأساسي يكمن في تحليل الطريق الذي أتى من خلاله أوغسطين لتحويل الرغبة الجنسية إلى سمة أساسية من سمات الذات.
….،"لقد فهم أوغسطين على أنه يجمع الكثير من التقاليد التي جاءت قبله وينسب إليه الفضل في إنشاء إطار نظري أصبح من الممكن فيه توحيد طريقتي الحياة - العذرية والزواج - من حيث نضالهما ضد العدو المشترك: الشهوة. "

بصفة عامة، شكل أوغسطين منعطف حاسم في فكر فوكو الفلسفي والأخلاقي، وضمن تاريخ الجنسانية بشكل عام.

هذا الجزء مغاير عن الأجزاء الأخرى، وأكثر صعوبة على القارىء.

اهتمام فوكو بالتاريخ أو التأريخ في العديد من أعماله، اذ جعل من عدة مواضيع؛ رحلة بحث ذات طابع شخصي - تجريبي، ك الجنون، الجنس، وكذا الذات في قنوات مختلفة، جعل منه فيلسوف ومفكر مثير جداً للاهتمام .

[Mauricio Martínez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's kind of sad that Foucault passes away without having finished his studies. This book was published waaaaaay after his death, and even when you can see his reasoning and incredible research, one kinda wonders how the book would have ended up if he could have written it.
That being said, this was an amazing book for me. It's an analysis of Sexuality under Christian dogma, and how it was developed by Christian thinkers using the groundwork established by ancient philosophers. Helps to understand and fight preconcepts that one might have over the topic, and also, makes it possible to have a wider picture of history. I loved it.

[Edmond · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is ironic, a paradox that Foucault, the enemy of the Christian faith, he fully explains the nature and purpose of marriage in his fourth volume of the history of sexuality. I went through bible college and grad school and no conservative Christian could explain to me the nature and purpose of marriage. God uses strange people to speak the truth. Foucault fully explains the purpose of marriage according to traditional Christian teaching, it is to limit sexual desires. Foucault is an interesting philosopher, he was fascinated with the connection between sex and death. I have a better understanding of sex and sexuality after reading Foucault. I look forward to reading more of Foucault’s books.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foucault seems to have, at some junction far before this fourth volume in the series, realised that in order to lay bare the structure of the conception of human sexuality, you first need a solid conception of human selfhood, before even being able to begin considering the structure of the human conception of selfhood. So, in my reading, ‘The History of Sexuality’ is not so much about sexuality itself, as it utilises sexuality in order to address selfhood. And this, obviously, is an infinitely more valuable project than focussing ‘only’ on sexuality.

And to think this was not even supposed to be the last instalment.

[Roemer Declercq]

I DID IT

it's over

I don't really know why i gave these star ratings but it's especially impossible for this one. By far the most intricately and passionately researched and written out of all the volumes. I do have to say, and I don't know if this is a symptom of basically following all four HoS volumes consecutively, but the last 100/80 pages were a struggle to get through. It was written so so so well, but at the same time I got a bit exasperated by the style that Foucault uses in these books -- a kind of constant repetition of his arguments, where every time he comes to a conclusion, he states that this is not in fact a complete view, or how this differs slightly from the ancient Greek or Roman societies, or that more modulations have to be made to the 'paroxysmal bloc' in order to have it resemble anything we could truly recognise in our current politics of sex.

Also...... every volume has a different structure and that did kind of piss me off. I guess this one also wasn't really completely ready for publication yet and I would have really loved to see how the entirety of the project would've turned out if Foucault had been able to finish it.

All in all, Christianity is quite interesting, sometimes funny, how were they able to put so much masochism in such an occluded form?>> I'm really excited to read more of Foucaults work, I hope some of it is more similar to HoS 1

[Josse Noynaert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This man does not miss 🙌🙌

[Volbet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, this Confessions of the Flesh: The History of Sexuality, Volume 4 is hard to say something substantial about.
My issues with the entire work starts with the cover of the edition I read, as that edition promises that the book was completed just before Michel Foucault's death. It evidently is not complete as it, for example, lacks a conclusion and the book also just seems to end at a chapter with no resolution or finishing. So calling it a complete work is stretching the truth a bit. It's certainly more than notes or scraps, but an editorialized publication this ain't.

Furthermore, it's pretty obvious that this is two or more books piled together. I don't doubt that Foucault intended this as a single work, but if any editor worth their salt had read this over, it would likely have been split up.
This was supposed to have been a volume in Foucault's history of sexuality, and he certainly does have his focus on that, but there are also weird tangents that seem to aim at something bigger than just sexuality. This also seem to be hinted at in the appendices that bookend Confessions of the Flesh, as the thesis in the first appendix is much narrower than what Foucault actually delved into in the book, and the other appendices also broadens the scope quite a bit.
As such, this is a very confusing book to read, as it goes on weird tangents (more so than usual) and only gets to the deeper histographical points sporadically.

But what does Foucault get to in the history of sexuality?
Well, this volume examines the early Christian periode from around the 1st century AD to the 4th century AD and how the early church fathers and Christian philosophers yet again reframed sexuality.
The main thing that Foucault very masterfully argues is that the Christian framing of sexuality came much less from Christian (or Judaic) theology, but was rather a development of the Greek and Greco-Roman morality that Foucault examined in The History of Sexuality, Volume 2: The Use of Pleasure and The History of Sexuality, Volume 3: The Care of the Self. But what I found the most interesting is how the morality of sexuality in Foucault's histography in the early Christian periode went from a matter of personal moral consideration to a public spectacle, where the sexual sins is to be repented and confessed to another person. And as such, sexuality became an object of transgression toward the established order.
This is also where Foucault shows his biggest influence from the likes of Georges Bataille and Friedrich Nietzsche, but unfortunately this is where the book just comes to an abrupt end.

[William Alves · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Texto publicado originalmente no site https://impressoesdemaria.com.br)

Após os estudos da hipocrisia, da burguesia e do capitalismo como causadores da repressão sexual na era vitoriana em A Vontade do Saber, publicado pela primeira vez em 1976; a conduta sexual e o início da homossexualidade na Grécia clássica em O Uso dos Prazeres, e O Cuidado de Si, que a partir de textos gregos e latinos problematizavam o cuidado do homem consigo mesmo em relação às várias formas de desejo sexual, ambos publicados em 1984; a editora Paz e Terra publica em 2020 a edição póstuma de As Confissões da Carne (com tradução de Vera Portocarrero e Heliana de Barros Conde Rodrigues) que tenta, a partir de milhares de manuscritos deixados por Foucault, tratar em três longos capítulos a culpa causada pelas necessidades da carne, do sexo, e do pecado nos cinco primeiros séculos da Era Moderna.

No primeiro capítulo, “A formação de uma experiência nova”, de modo acertado o autor escolhe dar início a sua longa jornada tratando da criação e da procriação, de como o prazer sexual precisou se remodelar para ser visto como uma conduta respeitosa entre todos (mas que nem de longe – e o autor é enfático nesse ponto – foi seguida por todos). Ele utiliza textos de Clemente de Alexandria, em especial “O Pedagogo” e “Estromata”, e Santo Agostinho como bases para uma profunda pesquisa sobre castidade, casamento, pecado e salvação: o reencontro com Deus na eternidade. Como sabemos, de acordo com os ensinamentos cristãos essa salvação não só não era garantida como também era praticamente impossível de ser entendida e obtida.

Ao escolher abordar os escritos de Clemente e Agostinho, Foucault precisa, inevitavelmente, analisar as ideias e observações obtidas destes dois autores, como também novos conceitos a partir de textos dos autores estudados por estes dois. Desse modo, precisamos, por mais de 200 páginas, ler sobre medicina, sobre agricultura (já que seria impossível não deparar com os clichês das várias analogias sexuais sobre como “semear a terra” e “obter boas colheitas”). Mas não é suficiente. Também somos apresentados a crenças curiosas sobre alguns animais que têm o propósito de demonstrar como o sexo sem a finalidade de procriação era condenável. É curioso, porém, ler com nossas mentes modernas e desconstruídas de 2020 (um ano em que mais do que nunca buscamos e precisamos da validação e da representação de todos os tipos de identidade de gênero) o questionamento de Foucault: “Ora, e quanto ao sexo? Um indivíduo não pode mudar de sexo, nem ter dois, tampouco ser de um terceiro que seja intermediário entre o masculino e o feminino: essas são quimeras que os homens imaginam, mas às quais a natureza se recusa.” (p. 48).

Adiante, o autor aborda as diferenças entre penitência, celibato e virgindade, mas sob um olhar direcionado a Adão e Eva e se houve, de fato, ato sexual entre os dois no paraíso. Essa sessão, a meu ver, juntamente com as discussões acerca do batismo e da morte (como salvação) constitui-se dos momentos mais interessantes dessa edição; isto, é claro, se levarmos em consideração os pensamentos do próprio autor sobre a morte e o suicídio como algo positivo. Ora, sendo a morte aqui interpretada como salvação (ao morrer o homem deixa de pecar, e ao fazê-lo, encontra-se com seu Criador), e a sua então (possível) constante culpa por causa de sua homossexualidade (pecado), fica impossível não entender sua obsessão com o tema quando ele escreve “O batismo constitui, pois uma inversão do sentido da morte: uma morte que faz morrer para o pecado e para a morte, e que, portanto, a este título, deve ser ardorosamente desejada.” (p. 103).

Existe um anacronismo em forma de uma estranha calmaria dentro de cada capítulo que contrasta duplamente com o caos do estilo de escrita do autor e com o caos do tema sexualidade em si, visto que não percebemos uma mudança brusca de temas, como, a meu ver, acontecia em certos momentos nos volumes dois e três, uma vez que de modo fluído, Foucault caminha por pastores de ovelhas e suas funções filosóficas, penitência, virgindade, morte, casamento, fidelidade e assassinatos bíblicos sem que percebamos que o tema que estávamos até então estudando, já encontra-se estranhamente no passado, e que na verdade, já nos encontramos inseridos em outro assunto, novo e completamente diferente.

“Do mesmo modo como algumas artes, entre as outras profissões, foram inventadas para bem conduzir cada uma das tarefas visadas, do mesmo modo, parece-me que a profissão de virgindade é uma arte e uma ciência de vida divina.” (p. 225) – Gregório de Nissa.

Já no segundo capítulo, “Ser Virgem”, Foucault usa textos de uma variedade de autores para demonstrar a importância que era dada a virgindade já no século IV. Seguimos, pois, nosso estudo entre nomes como Basílio de Ancira, Gregório de Nissa, João Crisóstomo (este um dos mais recorrentes) e Evágrio Pôntico ao longo de um capítulo mais curto, mas que por algum motivo nos passa a sensação de ser interminável. Aprendemos, contudo, que pelo menos durante o seu primeiro século, o cristianismo parecia empregar o mesmo sistema de moral sexual usado pela cultura antiga, e eventualmente chegaremos ao conceito dos três graus de virgindade: o que recebemos ao nascer, e que se assim nos conservamos até o fim da vida, e que de acordo com os cristãos, é a entrada para a vida eterna no céu; o que recebemos no batismo (segundo nascimento), e o que Tertuliano chama de monogamia, que consiste em abdicar do sexo em caso de separação ou morte do marido.

Não que o capítulo seja de todo maçante. Longe disso. Uma das sessões intitulada “Artes da Virgindade” é particularmente interessantíssima, pois aborda, a partir de De Nissa e Agostinho, o modo como o tema virgindade atinge um estágio da mais alta respeitabilidade, sendo criado a sua volta um conjunto de procedimentos relacionados aos cuidados da alma, que através de uma lista enredada com dietas sobre a autorregulação dos desejos carnais começa a ser entendido não apenas como a já conhecida estrada tortuosa que conduz ao encontro com o Pai eterno, mas, de fato, como uma arte de permanecer seguro de si.

O último capítulo é destinado ao casamento. Foucault aborda temas como “O dever dos esposos”, “O bem e os bens do casamento”, e “A Libidinização do sexo”, tendo como base a concepção inflexível de Santo Agostinho acerca da ética sexual no cristianismo ocidental. Precisamos ler, estudar, decifrar e finalmente entender dezenas de desvios e analogias para saber o que é realmente importante: o casamento, a virgindade ou a progenitura. Para alguns, o casamento não apenas se trata de uma saída fácil para os fracos e covardes, como ainda pode ser entendido como uma relação dispensável, isso pensando-se apenas no quesito “continuar a vida na terra”, uma vez que o casamento não é fundamental para gerar vida, e sim o sexo. O casamento é apenas um “comércio carnal” (p. 397).

A virgindade, por outro lado, significava uma vida de calmaria sem as preocupações diárias causadas pelo ato de criar e educar os filhos. Não devemos, todavia, encarar o casamento unicamente como uma inépcia, como um prêmio de consolação a quem não consegue ser plenamente incorrupto em relação ao desejos da carne. O conceito de permanecer virgem não é simplesmente um estado completamente livre de interpretações, ao modo que existem casos reprováveis de o ser. Se a mulher, por exemplo, propositalmente escolher se manter virgem por muito tempo, tornando-se velha, porque visa somente as diversas recompensas, ela logo não está verdadeiramente oferecendo sua virgindade, mas, sim, a vendendo; sendo então, uma prostituta, voltando assim, à estaca zero. Crisóstomo, em seu documento “De Virginitate” vai ainda mais longe ao depositar a culpa na mulher que, disposta a manter-se na Santa Virgindade é traída pelo marido visto que “foi ela que o empurrou ao abismo da libertinagem, privando-o da união legítima” (p. 349).

Me parece, sem nenhuma surpresa, que esta arte foi criada com o puro e direto intuito de punir a mulher através dos séculos.

[Caris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Volume 4 shifts our focus within sexual politics to the practices of instruction and examination. From the earlier Greco-Roman stoicism, Christianity carried forward the betterment of the self, but the difference was now that it was not by self-direction but direction and examination by the teacher or elder. Confession is obviously a huge part of this, not only to oneself, but to a moral authority. And in this new sexual politics, there were two approved paths for the Christian individual: virginity or marriage. The former was distinguished from the Stoic notion of continence, such that continence was merely a negation of temptation while chastity was the absence of temptation and the affirmation of virginity.

I’m sure if Foucault had been able to finish editing this volume, it might have been as good as Volumes 2 and 3, but certainly no better. Volume 4 has a dreadfully slow build, with an underwhelming conclusion. It’s especially unfortunate because on paper this volume should have been the most interesting to me—it had so much potential throughout. As insightful as it was in fragments, I’m afraid I don’t recommend Volume 4… this was the epitome of a boring book.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Foucault died before I suspect he could revise it. The result is a comprehensive and fascinating exegesis of early Christian writing on sex, sin, baptism and sacramental confession - for this alone it is worth reading. But what I missed was Foucault’s unique spin on his subject, his incisive interrogation of discourses and power that made him such a brilliant thinker who could bring new insights into a common subject that were always provocative, often spot on, and even when he seemed to miss the point would force the reader to at least think again about a subject.

[Madelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Là sont liés, par des liens que notre culture a plutôt tendus que dénoués, le sexe, la vérité et le droit."

[Neal Spadafora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my summary, which took too long:

The aphrodisia regime, initially shaped by non-Christian philosophers, was adopted by early Christian thinkers like Clement, who merged Hellenic ideals with Christian teachings, emphasizing marriage for procreation and the role of the Logos (3-14). Clement redefined sexual conduct, stressing that sex should align with divine purposes (17-28). The development of penance, baptism, and confession shaped Christian morality, with Tertullian's emphasis on pre-baptismal penitence and Hippolytus' role in institutionalizing baptism (37-57). Monasticism and obedience in ascetic practices further refined self-examination and confession (79-110). In early Christian thought, virginity evolved from a simple bodily abstention to a spiritual ideal. Cyprian viewed it as an extension of baptism’s purification (120-121), while Methodius saw it as a positive state of incorruptibility (123-130). By the 4th century, virginity became a deliberate, ascetic practice tied to self-governance, as seen in the writings of Gregory of Nyssa and Ambrose (137-153). Virginity was no longer just a prohibition but a disciplined, spiritual art, aimed at transforming the body and soul to resemble the divine. In the late 4th century, marriage in Christianity was redefined as a spiritual vocation, a counterbalance to the valorization of monastic life (196). Pastoral leaders like Chrysostom and Augustine emphasized marriage as a moral practice, with a focus on continence rather than mere procreation (203-214). Augustine's view that virginity was superior to marriage became central, but marriage still had intrinsic value, symbolizing spiritual unity (221). Augustine theorized the nature of desire, libido, and its impact on marital relations (256-271). This restructured Christian ethics, integrating marriage into a larger juridical framework of consent and moral behavior (279-285).

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 4th volume which is published 3 decades after his death (Foucault told his friends "don't you dare pull a Kafka-Max Brod on me"), many consider this to be the lynchpin behind the whole project. The key idea is that it is the Greco-Roman developments covered in the previous volumes that gave rise to the Christian ideas about sexuality that is prevalent now. Starting from the importance put on virginity and marriage, and the transformation of the idea of pleasure into the 'flesh', thus completing the embodiment of the pleasure into an integral but negatively viewed part of our identity that has to be continuously surveilled, one arrives at the confessing culture of the Middle Ages, best described by Augustine in City of God, where he discusses the theology behind corcuspiscence, which in itself is not sinful but it has tendency to be sinful. Once this becomes part of the Christian parlance, it soon develops into the complicated theology of sexuality in the later Middle Ages, one Foucault would describe as nonexistent in no other culture.

On the whole, I think it was superbly researched, I didn't expect such a person who would have a big animus against Christianity to be able to write in such detail the Christian theology on sexuality of the first couple of centuries. Some parts feel disjointed and the conclusions are not clearly stated, maybe a feature of the inconclusive nature of the work, sure someone else ghost-wrote it, so it would have been his fault.

[Jean-paul Audouy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Où on apprend que le dégoût inspiré par le sexe et son rejet viennent de loin dans l’église chrétienne. Et il n’y a pas que le sexe. Tout plaisir est coupable, forcément. La vie même est un moment désagréable, plus vite on meurt et plus vite on se retrouve au Paradis, asexué mais heureux ! Avec le pouvoir religieux associé au pouvoir politique dès que le christianisme est devenu religion d’état de l’Empire Romain au 4ème siècle, c’est ce qui a guidé la morale officielle de centaines de générations. Sans les empêcher de faire ce qu’ils avaient envie de faire mais dans la plus parfaite hypocrisie sous peine de sanctions. Pour éviter le bûcher, une seule solution, vivons et aimons cachés…
Je sais maintenant tout des doctrines d’Augustin, Chrysostome, Julien d’Éclane, Grégoire de Nysse et les autres. Les pères de l’Eglise semblent souffrir d’une épidémie aiguë d’anhédonie. Mais quelle érudition de la part de Foucault ! Pas facile à lire mais fascinant.

[Isaac Price-Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected, it was a brilliant analysis. Since nobody else seems to say, it goes from the second century to the fifth century. There are a few sentences where Foucault seems to indicate that he had plans to write another volume, but after this it would be largely unnecessary in my opinion; questions of course remain, but nothing essential. If you know Foucault, you’re in for one of his best books, and the peak of his late work; if you don’t know Foucault, he’s worth getting to know. The fact that he died before he could finish this text has, to my reading, had very little impact on it, it seems he was almost completely finished with it at his death, and the work of the editors accounts for what was left. I expect my engagement with Foucault to be lifelong, but for now, he deserves to take a bow.

[Zachary Sokol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird. Maybe my Foucault prowess is rusty but this one just feels like a polemic. Foucault has also begun to chart into territory about which he shows he knows nothing about (Early Church Fathers). Maybe just a sucky translation.

EDIT: It seems that perhaps the break in tone is because this book was complied post mortem by Foucault “scholars”. I believe the Foucault scholarship community errs on a political side inconsistent with Foucault himself, which would explain why it came off so polemical and hardly erudite. It also lacks the philological obsession for which late Foucault is so famous for.

[M Govea · Rating 4 out of 5]

El trabajo culmina con un texto que, como toda la serie, exige al lector una atención rigurosa y una disposición a enfrentar ideas complejas y densas. La obra, publicada póstumamente, recoge las reflexiones finales de quien dedicó gran parte de su vida a desentrañar las formas en que el poder atraviesa la sexualidad y el cuerpo. Más que una conclusión, se siente como un legado abierto, una invitación permanente a cuestionar y repensar los entramados que configuran nuestra experiencia más íntima. Su densidad no es un obstáculo, sino un desafío para quien se atreve a adentrarse en este territorio intelectual.

[Tyler Munn]

There is a wealth of stuff here! We see how and why the complicated techniques of the self that early Christianity relied take a Juridical form after Augustine. This is so huge considering Foucault alludes to this throughout the first 3 volumes. Here he actually shows his work. I wish we got more from him.

The editors have done a fantastic job here. It's clear it's an unfinished manuscript. It probably would have undergone more revisions, but it is readable and worth it if you are interested in the late Foucault's project.

[Micah Rojo · Rating 5 out of 5]

not foucault’s best or his most important, but it may be my favorite of his. It’s a shame death took him before he could finish this book.

I still don’t know how to understand HS 2-4 in relation to the rest of his work. At times i think he is trying to find a way forward out the problems he has spent his life naming and clearing away, and other times i think he is continuing to name and clear away are problems.

Also what to do about Augustine’s location of desire in the will? the unwilled will that the will consents to. something we are caught up in. Much to think about.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il voto è dovuto, purtroppo, al fatto che questo testo sia stato basato su un manoscritto ristabilito dopo la morte dell'autore, e leggendolo ce ne si rende conto. Il lavoro di edizione lo rende sicuramente leggibile, ma ci sono tante ripetizioni, decorsi e la lettura mi è risultata pesante. Per quanto riguarda la tematica, è una buona conclusione al filone della problematizzazione della storia della sessualità agli inizi della cultura occidentale che Foucault ha descritto in questa serie.

[Jonathan Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Los cuatro tomos de Historia de la sexualidad son fundamentales para entender los procesos de subjetivación moral en occidente. Una locura el viaje hasta llegar al último tomo recientemente traducido.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s Foucault. He rules. What more is there to say? Probably just that all his haters are wrong and the way he presents texts is really compelling and interesting, regardless of the ‘historical rigour’ of his work (which is not History in the modern academic sense anyway)

[миша сафронов · Rating 2 out of 5]

Читал с трудом. Наверное, ещё не дорос. Показалось, что полезного (интересного) вещества мало, а автор топчется на одном месте.

[Mark G.e. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book should not have been published. This is not only my professional opinion as a Foucault scholar, but also Foucault's own opinion.

[Diana González · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es como el resumen de los volúmenes anteriores.

[Capalb Albert · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the most underwhelming reading experiences of my life

[Citesc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foarte informativă!

[Mohnish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theologiqueer

[Jared]

Foucault dares to ask the question: can I make being horny boring?







(It was good, albeit tedious)