Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.20901/pm.63.3.01
"The Art of Not Being Governed Quite So Much”: Autonomy and Critique in Foucault’s Political Philosophy
Nikola Cerovac
; University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Abstract
In this paper, Foucault’s political philosophy is considered starting from his reception of Kant’s critical philosophy and focusing on how Foucault formed his understanding of critical activity and the related concept of autonomy. The first part elaborates how Foucault, based on his interpretation of Kant’s anthropology and his place in the modern episteme, develops a critique of contemporary discourses on man, with significant consequences as regards his theory of subjectivity. The second part demonstrates how earlier epistemological critique assumes its practical form in the attitude of modernity and forms Foucault’s thinking on the role of philosophy in contemporaneity. Finally, Foucault’s concept of critique is read against his interpretation of neoliberalism to draw political implications of his work. The conclusion is that Foucault’s approach harbours a narrow understanding of autonomy, overlooking intersubjective relations and failing to explain collective action, and is therefore unable to offer guidance for wider social change.
Keywords
Michel Foucault; Immanuel Kant; Autonomy; Critique; Modernity
Hrčak ID:
352499
URI
Publication date:
27.10.2026.
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