The History of Sexuality, Vol. 2

By Michel Foucault,

Book cover of The History of Sexuality, Vol. 2: The Use of Pleasure

Book description

In this sequel to The History of Sexuality, Volume I: An Introduction, the brilliantly original French thinker who died in 1984 gives an analysis of how the ancient Greeks perceived sexuality.

Throughout The Use of Pleasure Foucault analyzes an irresistible array of ancient Greek texts on eroticism as he tries…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The History of Sexuality, Vol. 2 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Michel Foucault had a variety of interests and wrote about many different topics – ecology and limits to growth were definitely not among them. I have found this book super useful though in thinking about what I call self-limitation, the processes through which individuals and collectives voluntarily craft the limits of their action and their power. Foucault’s book analyses how ancient Greeks perceived sexuality, and how they managed their bodies and desires. For the Greeks mastery over one’s wants was seen as key to personal freedom and development. Sexual freedom was part and parcel of the self-regulation of sexual desire.…

From Giorgos' list on living within limits.

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When I was writing this book, several of my friends jokingly called it the Nazi baby book, with one insisting it would make a great title. Nazi Babies – admittedly, that is a catchy title, but that’s not exactly what my book is about. SS babies would be slightly more…

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Interested in Michel Foucault, Ancient Greece, and sexuality?

Michel Foucault 18 books
Ancient Greece 157 books
Sexuality 48 books