Introduction to Kant's Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View

by Michel Foucault, Roberto Nigro (Editor)

This introduction and commentary to Kant’s least discussed work, Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View, is the dissertation that Michel Foucault presented in 1961 as his doctoral thesis. It has remained unpublished, in any language, until now.

In his exegesis and critical interpretation of Kant’s Anthropology, Foucault raises the question of the relation between psychology and anthropology, and how they are affected by time. Through a Kantian “critique of the anthropological slumber,” Foucault warns against the dangers of treating psychology as a new metaphysics, explores the possibilities of studying man empirically, and reflects on the nature of time, art and technique, self-perception, and language. Extending Kant’s suggestion that any empirical knowledge of man is inextricably tied up with language, Foucault asserts that man is a world citizen insofar as he speaks. For both Kant and Foucault, anthropology concerns not the human animal or self-consciousness but, rather, involves the questioning of the limits of human knowledge and concrete existence.

This long-unknown text is a valuable contribution not only to a scholarly appreciation of Kant’s work but as the first outline of what would later become Foucault’s own frame of reference within the history of philosophy. It is thus a definitive statement of Foucault’s relation to Kant as well as Foucault’s relation to the critical tradition of philosophy. By going to the heart of the debate on structuralist anthropology and the status of the human sciences in relation to finitude, Foucault also creates something of a prologue to his foundational The Order of Things.

Michel Foucault (1926–84) is widely considered to be one of the most influential academic voices of the twentieth century and has proven influential across disciplines.

Genres: Philosophy, Anthropology, Theory, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1798

About the author

Paul-Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationships between power and knowledge, and how they are used as a form of social control through societal institutions. Though often cited as a structuralist and postmodernist, Foucault rejected these labels. His thought has influenced academics, especially those working in communication studies, anthropology, psychology, sociology, criminology, cultural studies, literary theory, feminism, Marxism and critical theory.
Born in Poitiers, France, into an upper-middle-class family, Foucault was educated at the Lycée Henri-IV, at the École Normale Supérieure, where he developed an interest in philosophy and came under the influence of his tutors Jean Hyppolite and Louis Althusser, and at the University of Paris (Sorbonne), where he earned degrees in philosophy and psychology. After several years as a cultural diplomat abroad, he returned to France and published his first major book, The History of Madness (1961). After obtaining work between 1960 and 1966 at the University of Clermont-Ferrand, he produced The Birth of the Clinic (1963) and The Order of Things (1966), publications that displayed his increasing involvement with structuralism, from which he later distanced himself. These first three histories exemplified a historiographical technique Foucault was developing called "archaeology".
From 1966 to 1968, Foucault lectured at the University of Tunis before returning to France, where he became head of the philosophy department at the new experimental university of Paris VIII. Foucault subsequently published The Archaeology of Knowledge (1969). In 1970, Foucault was admitted to the Collège de France, a membership he retained until his death. He also became active in several left-wing groups involved in campaigns against racism and human rights abuses and for penal reform. Foucault later published Discipline and Punish (1975) and The History of Sexuality (1976), in which he developed archaeological and genealogical methods that emphasized the role that power plays in society.
Foucault died in Paris from complications of HIV/AIDS; he became the first public figure in France to die from complications of the disease. His partner Daniel Defert founded the AIDES charity in his memory.

Reviews

[Lukáš · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Foucault, and probably could be nothing else but Foucault. The book is at once a theoretical meditation on Kant's critical enterprise, at the same time an archival investigation into the genesis of Kant's volume on Anthropology that was in the works during the period of Kant's three major critiques, it is at once a Kantian book and at the same time, looks far beyond Kant. It's perhaps even surprising, how little attention does this short volume get within the whole of Foucault's oeuvre for both its own originality, and also, for the ways in which it enables one to better situate Foucault himself in the space between Kant, Heidegger, Nietzsche and beyond. Mandatory reading.

[Benjamin Zonnekeyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een briljante tekst!

[Alex Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting read. But disappointing over all. This is rather, more interesting for the development of Foucault's own thought then it is for an examination of Kant. Sure, there's some lines that are interesting but really nothing much sticks. It's all so academic and ephemeral. It's a nice review of how to place "Anthropology" which is, of course, what it's an introduction of.

Its kind of like, Foucault finds his problem in Kant's context, and for that reason it might be of interest, although it's also very Foucault-scholarship. So in that sense there doesn't seem to be much about it, since it's internal notes.

But it's also a pretty poor excuse to publish another book by Foucault.

Still it is written well, and can lead you to review Kant again, and find hidden pockets of Nietzsche in Kant. And so I give it a moderate 3 stars.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

As I mentioned in my review, Kant's Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View is mostly a charming anachronism. It's completely tangential to Kant's critical work - compiling lectures that, though amongst his most popular when he was teaching (in the 18th century), bear little relevance today.

All this makes Foucault's extended introduction/analysis of the piece, written while he was simultaneously writing his dissertation, somewhat superfluous from the start. Foucault wastes a lot of ink trying to prove Anthropology's centrality to Kants philosophy, pouring over Kant's letters, discarded drafts, and other ephemera. Ultimately, all Foucault ends up proving is that he was a somewhat over-eager graduate student.

[candela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, gracias. Me alegro. De acuerdo. Sí.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro brillante. Una Lectura de Kant contiene una parte de la tesis complementaria de doctorado de Michel Foucault dedicada a la traducción de la Antropología de Immanuel Kant. A esa traducción del alemán al francés le agregó Foucault un estudio introductorio que ocupa la mayor parte de este libro. A la vez, la presentación que antepone Edgardo Castro titulada Foucault, Lector de Kant, provee una extraordinaria guía para la comprensión del itinerario inquieto de Foucault. Básicamente, se trata de una lectura fuerte y original de Kant que emplea elementos de Martin Heidegger, Friedrich Nietzsche y del mismo Foucault. Es un texto central para comprender a Foucault. Las convergencias y divergencias dialécticas entre Crítica y Antropología quedan explicitadas. A la vez, esta tesis abre una vía de acceso a Las Palabras y las Cosas. Opino que es un excelente libro, muy bien cuidado, traducido y comentado. Creo que se trata de una lectura altamente recomendable junto con la Antropología de Kant, la Introducción a Foucault de Edgardo Castro y Las Palabras y las Cosas de Foucault, pasando por La Gran Extranjera del mismo autor.

[Isaac Price-Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly not one I’d suggest to many people, but it’s fascinating. It’s very much an academic text written for those familiar with Kant, but the conclusion situates Foucault’s entire project as a Nietzschean response to Kant in a very interesting way

[Luke Echo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that perhaps I should have a look over this after reading Kant's Anthropology from a Pragmatic Point of View. Difficult to get much out of it though on a rather quick read.