Foucault

Deleuze and Foucault held mutual admiration, appreciation, and respect for each other's philosophical ideas, and relied on each other intellectually. Deleuze's 'Foucault' is akin to a painted portrait of Foucault, capturing the philosopher's thoughts that were prematurely curtailed by death. In Deleuze's view, Foucault was undoubtedly one of the greatest philosophers of his era. When reviewing 'The Archaeology of Knowledge,' Deleuze noted that Foucault was a new kind of archivist, and when discussing 'Discipline and Punish,' he described Foucault as a new kind of cartographer. 'Foucault' is based on the lecture notes from Deleuze's specialized course on Foucault at the University of Paris VIII's Department of Philosophy. Deleuze's 'Foucault' is a biography without a life narrative, yet it is a masterpiece that brings us closest to understanding Foucault's philosophical ideas. Focusing on the concept of 'enunciation,' Deleuze used his own philosophy to resonate and reconstruct Foucault's, elucidating Foucault's re-interpretations of knowledge, power, subjectivation, and the death of man, and together, they unlocked the future of life and language.