ISSN: 2641-9130
Authors: Oram M*
In refracting the concept of ‘reason’ through the epistemological prism of ‘knowledge’, Michel Foucault’s philosophical discourse on modernity is an important element in the current definition of critical philosophy. Indeed, Foucault’s distinctive thought stems from his synthesizing the investigations of the modern formation of knowledge with critical philosophy. In so doing, he provides a heuristic perspective for the examination of the ‘problematic of modernity’ through an analysis of the historical developmental of the regnant concept of ‘knowledge’ as it is intertwined with patterns of social constructions and power structures. This paper presents a critical analysis of Foucault’s seminal understanding of the interaction between the modern concept of knowledge (as against that of the Renaissance) and the ‘crisis of modernity’. It seeks to shed light on this interaction in the context of the perceived ‘crisis of modernity’, which Foucault regards as an outcome of the ‘totalizing’ conception of ‘reason’ that lies at the root of the so-called ‘human sciences’. The central issue considered herein is whether Foucault’s depiction of the historical unfolding of the modern concept of knowledge – from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment – is consistent with his characterization of the modern concept of knowledge. From the critical perspective of Foucault’s thesis of the ‘crisis of modernity’, the question that arises is whether it would be correct to identify Foucault – the critical philosopher and trenchant critic of modernity – with the ‘postmodern’ deconstruction and rejection of the Enlightenment. In addressing this question I argue that Foucault’s critique of modernity is grounded in his concept of knowledge. Specifically, I contend that his exacting review of the genealogy of the modern conception of reason is meant to extricate rationalism from the grips of this putatively abstract concept of reason. Hence, I conclude that it is profoundly misleading to associate Foucault’s critical thought with the postmodern project of deconstruction.
Keywords: Reason; Epistemological; Crisis of modernity; Renaissance; Enlightenment
