Foucault and Phenomenology, a Tense and Complex Relationship
Aurélie Leclercq-Vandelannoitte
The Oxford Handbook of Phenomenologies and Organization Studies January 26, 2023 DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192865755.013.13 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that Foucault's philosophy inevitably falls within the scope of phenomenology, rediscovering and extending its potentialities toward a 'post-phenomenology'. The authors contend that reading Foucault's three main theses phenomenologically reveals unexpected resemblances between Foucault and Merleau-Ponty, and that his ethics of the self reflects Heidegger's influence and continues themes from Ricoeur and Merleau-Ponty. |
Abstract
Abstract: In line with observers that have recently reconsidered the relationship between Foucault and phenomenology, this chapter argues that Foucault’s philosophy inevitably falls within the scope of phenomenology, by rediscovering and extending its potentialities (Legrand, 2008). To do justice to the real nature of the relationship between Foucault and phenomenology, this chapter aims to highlight the possible affiliation and peculiar significance that phenomenology has taken in Foucault’s approach, and to show how Foucault extended the potentialities and richness of phenomenology towards a new approach of phenomenology, known as ‘post-phenomenology’. To that end, we consider Foucault’s three main theses (Burrell, 1988) through the prism of phenomenology: we first consider the relationship between the young Foucault and the phenomenology developed by Husserl, in terms of historicity and archaeology; we then analyse Foucault’s relationship with phenomenology through the prism of the historicization of the transcendental, expressed in Foucault’s genealogy of the subject, revealing unexpected resemblances between Foucault’s and Merleau-Ponty’s views; last, we explore Foucault’s reconsideration of the subject, through his developments of the hermeneutics and ethics of the self, revealing an active mode of experimentation largely influenced by Heidegger’s approach, and further inscribing his work in the wake of Ricoeur and Merleau-Ponty.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |