1001Philosophers

Michel Foucault Quotes on Mind

Michel Foucault was a 20th-century French philosopher, historian, and social theorist, one of the most influential figures of post-war continental philosophy. This page collects quotes attributed to Michel Foucault on the topic of mind, drawn from across the philosopher's works.

Quotes

  • “I don't feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am.”

    Truth, Power, Self : An Interview with Michel Foucault (25 October 1982)
  • Attributed to Michel Foucault:

    “There are more ideas on earth than intellectuals imagine.”

  • “The soul is the prison of the body.”

    [L]'âme, prison du corps.
  • “Marxism exists in nineteenth-century thought as a fish exists in water; that is, it ceases to breathe anywhere else.”

    As quoted by David Macey , The lives of Michel Foucault (1993) p. 177. Citing 'Les Intellectuels et le Pouvoir', Le'Arc 49, 1972, pp. 3-10. Discussion with Gilles Deleuze, (4 March 1972). Reprinted, Le Nouvel Observateur , (8 May 1972) pp. 68-70. Tr. 'Intellectuals and Power', Language, Counter-Memory, Practice , pp. 205-17.
  • “As quoted by David Macey , The lives of Michel Foucault (1993) p. 177. Citing 'Les Intellectuels et le Pouvoir', Le'Arc 49, 1972, pp. 3-10. Discussion with Gilles Deleuze, (4 March 1972). Reprinted, Le Nouvel Observateur , (8 May 1972) pp. 68-70. Tr. 'Intellectuals and Power', Language, Counter-Memory, Practice , pp. 205-17.”

    Marxism exists in nineteenth-century thought as a fish exists in water; that is, it ceases to breathe anywhere else.