Product Description

Why has there been such an explosion of discussion about sex in the west since the 17th century? Here, one of France's greatest intellectuals explores the evolving social, economic and political forces that have shaped our attitudes to sex. In a book that is at once controversial and seductive, Foucault describes how we are in the process of making a science of sex which is devoted to the analysis of desire rather than the increase of pleasure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4419 in Books
• Published on: 1998-10-29
• Original language: French
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

About the Author
One of the leading intellectuals of the twentieth century and the most prominent thinker in post-war France, Foucault's work influenced disciplines as diverse as history, sociology, philosophy, sociology and literary criticism.

Customer Reviews

so much more than a history of sexuality
This, the first volume of French philosopher Michel Foucault's tripartite study of sexuality is as idiosyncratic as the man himself. Unlike the works of a number of his colleages, this book is highly accessible and of interest to any broadminded reader, although it would be of particular interest to students of philosophy, sociology, gender, politics, religion, history etc etc.. I personally have recommended H.O.S.1 to a number of friends and have yet to receive a negative response. While more of an intellectual curiosity than a full blown philosophy, Foucault's concepts reverberate far beyond the parameters of the book's subject.

A well-presented work of enlightened essence
Readable and digestable is very much what can characterise the style of the book. In content, Foucault explores the creation of sexual categories and their relevance to the power structures of the capitalist society. It is a clear treatise on sexual fascism and how it is used to the ends of the power structure. Inherent within the book, and it is this which makes it different from other attempts, is the manner in which Foucault views the conditioning of sexuality as part of our Western scientific tradition. In certain respects, he is unscathed by that same tradition in the way he comments on sexuality and its deployment as a tool for power. In this way, the book does not reflect a critique of the capitalist economy more than a realisation of the way power is ingrained within the structures of the political economy and the psyche of the people.

The Will to Cloud the Issue
The inane self-contradictory ramblings of a man with serious issues concerning his own sexuality.He purports to prove that there was no sexual repression by constantly referring to the enormous amount of repression present during the Victorian age. He seems to feel that the amount of discussion surrounding sex is the main problem and then proceeds to discuss it. The book is a mass of self-contradictory postulations and dubious historical references. A book so completely devoid of the logical objective reasoning he claims to bring to the subject that it begs the question " what is he really on about".