Freedom, Criticism and Politics: The Coherence of Foucault's Thinking from his Debate with Habermas

Abstract

In his trajectory, Michel Foucault has produced a work as original as controversial, which challenges a consistent comprehension of his legacy. This work seeks to construct a reading of the broader outlines of the Foucaultian project, considering passages of his intellectual production, from his preface to Kant’s Anthropology until his final interviews, by taking as a major reference his responses to the criticisms addressed to him by Habermas. To do so, it must be seen the Foucaultian formulations regarding the relations among subject, truth, and power, as well as his references with respect to the School of Frankfurt. Taking as a background the main criticisms directed to his work, and to the possible defenses available to him, above all, with regards to his position on normativity, truth, freedom, and critique, it seems to be posibble to claim for a coherence of Michel Foucault’s writings, as well as for the fecundity of his legacy for a practical and situated reflection on ourselves.