Review article
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22028039
The Place of "Method" in the Thought of Michel Foucault
Mladen Matić
; Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad
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* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This paper analyzes the philosophical thought of Michel Foucault through the concepts of discontinuity, archaeology, épistème, power, biopolitics, and genealogy. First, Foucault is situated within the broader context of postmodern and post-structuralist thought, with an emphasis on the rejection of a linear understanding of historical progress and closed philosophical systems. Next, it examines his archaeological approach to history and the concept of épistème as a set of conditions that determine what can be considered knowledge and truth in a given historical period. Special attention is devoted to the transition from the classical to the modern épistème and Foucault's critique of anthropological thought. The second part of the paper focuses on the concept of power, particularly through discipline, biopolitics, and the panopticon. Finally, genealogy is examined as a continuation and reshaping of archaeology, focusing on discontinuities, subjugated knowledges, and the historical conditions of power relations. The paper demonstrates that Foucault's thought cannot be reduced to an "anything goes" stance, but rather represents a different approach to history, knowledge, and power that rejects firm foundations and big historical narratives.
Keywords
Michel Foucault; post-structuralism; postmodernism; discontinuity; archaeology; genealogy; épistème; power; biopolitics; panopticon; knowledge; truth; discourse; anthropological sleep; subjugated knowledges
Hrčak ID:
350252
URI
Publication date:
31.8.2026.
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