Michel Foucault

About Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault (1926-1984) was a highly influential French philosopher and critical theorist whose work reshaped modern understanding across the humanities and social sciences. His historical importance, reflected in an HPI Rank of #761, stems from his groundbreaking analyses of power, knowledge, and discourse, exemplified in seminal works like *Discipline and Punish* and *The History of Sexuality*. Foucault’s theories on institutions like prisons and asylums, and his examination of how social systems shape human experience, continue to be core texts in contemporary academic study.

In 2025, Foucault receives 925K annualized Wikipedia pageviews, suggesting his modern internet attention is somewhat commensurate with his historical rank, given he is not as globally dominant as figures in the top 100. However, this attention is slightly declining, showing a -4.6% year-over-year change, though Q1 versus Q3 momentum suggests a slight uptick in recent interest (+2%). Interestingly, the figure shows a +3x "overattention" relative to his HPI rank, implying that while his views are modest compared to global icons, he is significantly more viewed than other figures ranked similarly in historical importance, such as Matsuo Bashō (#409 importance, 137K views) or Strabo (#484 importance, 189K views).