It would be inaccurate to say that Michel Foucault simply considered ancient Greek culture superior to modern European culture. His engagement with Greek and Roman antiquity in the later volumes of The History of Sexuality (especially The Use of Pleasure and The Care of the Self) was analytical and strategic rather than nostalgic. He turned to antiquity to understand alternative ways of constituting the self, not to idealize the Greeks as morally better.
To see this clearly, we should examine why he became interested in Greek culture and how he interpreted it.
1. Why Foucault Turned to Greek Antiquity
In the 1980s Foucault shifted his research from power and discipline toward ethics and subjectivity. Earlier works such as Discipline and Punish and the first volume of The History of Sexuality focused on how institutions produce subjects through power and knowledge.
But Foucault later asked a new question:
How do individuals actively shape themselves as ethical subjects?
To answer this, he examined ancient Greek and Roman practices of self-formation. These societies offered historical examples of how people consciously cultivated their behavior, desires, and character.
Thus the Greeks were important to him because they represented a different model of ethics, not because they were morally superior.
2. Greek Ethics as “Aesthetics of Existence”
Foucault argued that in classical Greek culture ethics was not primarily based on obedience to universal moral laws.
Instead, it centered on what he called “an aesthetics of existence.”
This means:
- individuals tried to fashion their lives as works of art
- ethical conduct involved self-mastery and self-cultivation
- moral life was linked to practices of discipline, reflection, and self-care
For example, Greek philosophers encouraged practices such as:
- self-examination
- moderation of desires
- training of the body and mind
- philosophical dialogue
These practices formed part of what Foucault called “technologies of the self.”
3. Difference from Christian Moral Systems
Foucault contrasted Greek ethics with the moral framework that developed later in Europe through Christianity.
Greek ethical culture focused primarily on:
- moderation
- self-mastery
- aesthetic self-formation
Christian morality introduced different concerns, including:
- confession of sins
- guilt and moral transgression
- obedience to divine law
- scrutiny of inner desire
Foucault argued that modern Western culture inherited many of these Christian practices, particularly the confessional model of subjectivity.
For example:
- people are encouraged to reveal their desires to priests, therapists, or experts
- sexuality becomes a domain that must be analyzed and confessed
His analysis suggested that modern European societies became deeply invested in examining and regulating the inner self.
4. Greeks Were Not Idealized
Despite his interest in Greek ethics, Foucault never claimed that Greek society was morally superior or politically exemplary.
Greek civilization had serious limitations:
- slavery was widespread
- women had very limited rights
- democratic participation was restricted to certain male citizens
Foucault was fully aware of these aspects. His goal was not to romanticize antiquity but to demonstrate that ethical systems can take radically different historical forms.
In other words, Greek culture served as a comparative historical example, not a normative model for modern society.
5. Why Greek Ethics Interested Foucault
Greek thought fascinated Foucault for a specific philosophical reason.
It showed that ethics can be organized around self-fashioning rather than obedience to universal rules.
This allowed him to explore a broader question:
How can individuals create forms of freedom within existing power relations?
Ancient ethical practices suggested that people could actively work on themselves through deliberate techniques and disciplines.
Thus Greek philosophy illustrated the possibility of ethical self-creation.
6. Foucault’s Actual Position
Foucault’s stance can be summarized in three points:
- Ancient Greek ethics offered an alternative historical model of subjectivity.
- This model emphasized self-cultivation rather than moral prohibition.
- Studying it helps us recognize that our own moral systems are historically contingent rather than universal.
In other words, Foucault did not claim that Greek culture was better than modern Europe. Instead, he used it to demonstrate that different civilizations organize ethical life in different ways.
✅ Final point
Foucault’s interest in Greek antiquity was part of his broader philosophical strategy: to show that the ways we think about truth, morality, sexuality, and the self are historically constructed and therefore open to transformation.