The Nietzsche-Husserl confrontation in Michel Foucault's unpublished early works

Abstract

This article explores the Husserl-Nietzsche confrontation in Michel Foucault's writings from the 1950s. After demonstrating the importance of the Husserl-Nietzsche confrontation in Foucaultian thought, we first address the reception of Nietzsche in France during those years, particularly in relation to Michel Foucault. Second, we present the general theses of Foucault's interpretation of Husserl in Phénoménologie et psychologie. Third, in light of this interpretation, we address two recently published short texts from this period dedicated to Nietzsche: “Wahrsagen et Wahrnehmen” and “La profondeur.” Our intention is to show how the confrontation with Husserl constitutes one of the specificities of Foucault's reception of Nietzsche, leaving its mark on the author's subsequent developments.