Michel Foucault

Paul-Michel Foucault (French: Paul-Michel Foucault, October 15, 1926 - June 25, 1984) was a French philosopher and intellectual historian, social theorist, linguist, literary critic, and sexologist. He had a great influence on literary criticism and its theory, philosophy (especially in French-speaking countries), critical theory, history, history of science (especially the history of medicine), critical pedagogy and the sociology of knowledge. He is considered a postmodernist and poststructuralist, but some consider his early works, especially "Words and Objects", to be structuralist. He himself did not appreciate this classification. He believed that he had inherited the tradition of modernism. He believes that the term postmodernism itself is very vague. Some people question Foucault's political activities regarding his structuralist or poststructuralist tendencies. In this he is in the same position as Noam Chomsky, George Lakoff and Jane Jacobs, among others. Foucault's thoughts were largely influenced by Nietzsche. In 2007, the Times Guide to Higher Education ranked him as the most cited scholar in the humanities. Foucault has a certain influence in Chinese academic circles, including some analyzes and criticisms that introduce Foucault's ideas and apply his ideas.