Does Foucault Substitute Genealogy for Critique?——What Are the Implications of His Work for the Role of Public Intellectuals?

Abstract

Foucault, like Nietzsche, was opposed to the idea of historical metaphysics. In his conception genealogy is not positivism or empiricism, but a system of power and discourse behind knowledge, and genealogy is dedicated to the struggle against the order of discourse. Power is not just a force, but the essence of the world, that is, the human drive based on the "instinct to survive", in which all the sorrows and joys that arise are the whole of history. Genealogy is about people discovering themselves, discovering our problems, and creating a better, more superior power.