Michel Foucault, French Historian

June 26, 1984

Michel Foucault, French Historian
By PETER KERR

ichel Foucault, one of France's most prominent philosophers and historians, whose writings explored society's reaction to deviants, died yesterday in the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris. He was 57 years old.
Mr. Foucault was hospitalized earlier this month for a neurological disorder, but the cause of his death was not immediately disclosed.
With his books on language, mental illness, crime and sexuality, Mr. Foucault earned wide recognition among philosophers and social scientists and gained a considerable following among European and American intellectuals. He argued that certain ideas, such as madness, delinquency and sexuality, are transformed by society to serve the convenience of social systems. Since 1970, Mr. Foucault had occupied the chair of History of Thought at the College de France in Paris, and had lectured frequently on both sides of the Atlantic. Born in 1926
Born in Poitiers, France, in 1926, the son of a physician, Mr. Foucault was educated in psychology and philosophy. In 1961, his first widely discussed book, ''Madness and Civilization,'' was published. In it he argued that insanity was less a medical problem than a way in which societies categorized acceptable and unacceptable forms of behavior. Insane asylums, he said, were institutions of exclusion.
''Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison'' traced the historical development of prisons and the principles of thought that grew with them. Mr. Foucault said that as modern society developed, the institution expanded its ability to discipline individuals, and, in turn, intellectually legitimized incarceration as a form of treatment or rehabilitation.
His other works included ''The Order of Things,'' ''The Birth of the Clinic,'' and ''The Archeology of Knowledge.'' His death came less than two weeks after the publication of the third volume of his series ''The History of Sexuality.'' Associated With Structuralism
Mr. Foucault's name is most often associated with the philosopical school known as structuralism. His writings, as those of French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, reject the view that man's knowledge of the universe is based on observation of the external world. The structuralists argue that man is essentially a thinking animal who lives in a world that is intelligible to him only because he imposes his own order upon his experiences.
In addition to his academic work, Mr. Foucault was active in numerous social causes, including groups that advocated abolition of prisons. He also spoke out against human rights abuses and in favor of homosexual rights.
In a statement released yesterday, Pierre Mauroy, the Prime Minister of France, praised Mr. Foucault as ''one of the great French contemporary philosophers.''
''This great researcher,'' he said, ''was also a teacher whose lessons extended far beyond the borders of our country.''
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