A Philosopher’s Double Life
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Foucault Against Himself
by François Caillat
Arsenal Pulp Press. 150 pages, $17.95

AMONG THE THINKERS loosely associated with structuralism and post-structuralism, Michel Foucault (1926-1984) is one of the few (along with Noam Chomsky and Jacques Derrida, perhaps) who achieved something close to popular fame. Some of this was due, sadly, to the fact that Foucault died of an AIDS-related illness; the revelation of Foucault’s homosexuality surprised and scandalized many at the time even though Foucault wasn’t particularly secretive about his gay life.

Foucault was an original thinker who said things about history, power, madness, and sexual identity that no one had ever said before.