325: Michel Foucault

With special guest Longinus, P&C drink and review a Belgian saison, then discuss a few essays by Michel Foucault, who many people say was one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. Longinus gives a brief biography, then the boys work through two essays: "What is Enlightenment" and "Truth and Power." Foucault is considered a post-modernist. The boys try to unpack modernism and post-modernism, to put Foucault in context. His writings are difficult to read. Sometimes it sounds like complete nonsense. But a few things do come out fairly clearly. Most importantly, he believes that all of the things we think of as rational, self-evident truths, are actually dependent on circumstances and the changing fads and customs of a particular time. Foucault would reject the idea of objective truth. In many ways, Foucault contributed to the craziness we see all around us today, with "my truth," and the idea that everyone gets to define their own reality.