InfoTrac Web: Gen'l Reference Ctr (Magazine Index).

                                                                              
   Source:  Library Journal, March 15, 1997 v122 n5 p66(1).
                                                                              
    Title:  Ethics: Subjectivity and Truth; The Essential Works of Michel
            Foucault, 1954-1984, vol. 1._(book reviews)
   Author:  Leslie Armour
                                                                              
 Subjects:  Books - Reviews
   People:  Foucault, Michel
Rev Grade:  A
                                                                              
  Magazine Collection:  87M1385
Electronic Collection:  A19574657
                   RN:  A19574657
                                                                              

Full Text COPYRIGHT 1997 Reed Publishing USA

Foucault, Michel. Vol. 1. New Pr., dist. by Norton. Apr. 1997. c.310p. ed. by
Paul Rabinow. tr. by Robert Hurley & others. bibliog. ISBN 1-56584-352-5. $25.
PHIL

These essays--the first of three volumes of Foucault's short works,
interviews, and fragments--open with 11 previously unpublished outlines for
lectures at the College de France from 1970 until near Foucault's death. They
begin with the distinction Foucault made between the "will to knowledge" (a
passion for authoritative organization) and the "will to truth" (a concern for
the integrity of subjective expression). The outlines often probe
subjectivity, but Foucault's thought becomes increasingly moral and political,
focusing on technology and the social order. Though not his major writings,
these works may be "essential" because they express the kernel of his thought.
They suffer from problems of vocabulary--"knowing" and "willing" have
uncertain meanings in the original French and in the English translations--and
his arguments do not get much formal analysis. Even so, he writes
entertainingly and makes us think. For any sizable library.
                                                                              
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