Hi Mohamed :)
Personally speaking, I often find Foucault, like many French
(and other) thinkers, could have done with a good editor on
his shoulder (I could do with one too!). Many passages I
read in his books I find impenetrable, obtuse, and
incredibly unhelpful. I am thinking in particular of The
Order of Things and the Archaeology of Knowledge. I will
always remember the caution that Joshua Fishman once gave me
- "speak to me as if I'm your grandfather". Communication
and clarity are key aspects of any writing and often
Foucault fell down on both in my opinion. Sheesh, he rambles
terribly betimes :)
On the other hand, I find a lot of Foucault's work very
helpful, not for following slavishly, but for introducing me
to the possibilities of thinking for myself, the
possibilities of 'windows to the otherwise'. His influence
on my thinking is probably quite profound, if only because I
am frequently acknowledged as a professional nuisance in
conceptual discussions. I must be doing something right! :)
I disagree with many of the (many more) directions he took,
but I find that his work encourages me to disagree, to make
sense of things on the basis of my own experience, my own
archaeologies, to challenge certitudes wherever I find them,
and to invite others to confront their own certitudes by
making them transparent in and through analysis.
All the best
Anthony
Personally speaking, I often find Foucault, like many French
(and other) thinkers, could have done with a good editor on
his shoulder (I could do with one too!). Many passages I
read in his books I find impenetrable, obtuse, and
incredibly unhelpful. I am thinking in particular of The
Order of Things and the Archaeology of Knowledge. I will
always remember the caution that Joshua Fishman once gave me
- "speak to me as if I'm your grandfather". Communication
and clarity are key aspects of any writing and often
Foucault fell down on both in my opinion. Sheesh, he rambles
terribly betimes :)
On the other hand, I find a lot of Foucault's work very
helpful, not for following slavishly, but for introducing me
to the possibilities of thinking for myself, the
possibilities of 'windows to the otherwise'. His influence
on my thinking is probably quite profound, if only because I
am frequently acknowledged as a professional nuisance in
conceptual discussions. I must be doing something right! :)
I disagree with many of the (many more) directions he took,
but I find that his work encourages me to disagree, to make
sense of things on the basis of my own experience, my own
archaeologies, to challenge certitudes wherever I find them,
and to invite others to confront their own certitudes by
making them transparent in and through analysis.
All the best
Anthony