French structuralist philosopher noted for his examination of the concepts and codes by which societies operate, especially the "principles of exclusion" (such as the distinctions between the sane and the insane) by which a society defines itself.

The son of a physician, Foucault studied under the Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser at the Šcole Normale SupÈrieure, Paris. He taught at the University of Clermont-Ferrand between 1960 and 1968 and then spent two years at the University of Paris-Vincennes. From 1970 until his death he was professor of the history of systems of thought at the CollËge de France.