In 1784, the German newspaper Berlinische Monatschrifte asked its audience to reply to the question “What is Enlightenment?”  Immanuel Kant, following Moses Mendelssohn, took the opportunity to investigate the purported truths and assumptions of his ‘age of reason.’  Two hundred years later, Michel Foucault released a response to Kant’s initial essay, positioning the philosopher as the initiator of the discourse, and critique, of modernity—a credit traditionally accredited to Nietzsche.  The Politics of Truth takes this initial encounter between these two philosophers, Foucault and Kant, as the framework around which these different lectures and unpublished essays are assembled.  Ranging from reflections on the Enlightenment and revolution to a consideration of the Frankfurt School, this collection offers insight into the topics preoccupying Foucault as he worked on what would be his last body of published work, the three volume History of Sexuality. Foucault's examination of Kant's "What is Enlightenment?" is the most "American" moment of Foucault's thinking. It is in America that he realized the necessity of tying down his own reflection to that of the Frankfurt School. Edited by Sylvère Lotringer, The Politics of Truth contains transcripts of lectures Foucault gave in America and France between 1978 and 1984, the year of his death.

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.  His work investigates the fields of medicine, science, and intellectual history, all the while retaining the unique and penetrating quality of Foucault’s theoretical voice that refuses to be grouped into any singular intellectual movement.  He held the position of Professor of the History of the Systems of Thought at the College de France and lectured throughout the world.  His other books released by Semiotext(e) include Foucault Live and Fearless Speech.