Michel Foucault

About Michel Foucault

Michel Foucault (1926-1984) was a highly influential French philosopher, historian of ideas, and social theorist whose work profoundly impacted fields ranging from sociology to cultural studies. He is ranked #761 by MIT's Pantheon project for his historical importance, largely due to his examination of power structures, knowledge systems, and discourse, notably in works like Discipline and Punish and The History of Sexuality. His critical analyses of institutions like prisons and asylums continue to shape contemporary thought regarding social control and institutionalization.

Despite his significant historical standing, Foucault's modern internet attention suggests a disconnect from his influence. In 2025, his Wikipedia page accrued 924K annualized views. This level of attention represents an "overattention" of approximately +3x when benchmarked against his HPI rank, suggesting he commands significantly more attention than the average figure of comparable historical importance. For context, this is substantially less than figures like Al Capone (#992 importance) who received 2.5M views, yet it positions Foucault as well-recognized in the modern digital sphere compared to many other major historical figures.

While the overall interest is high relative to his importance score, a nuanced look at the data shows a slight cooling trend, with a year-over-year change of -4.7% in views. However, this dip is countered by strong recent engagement, as his 2025 Momentum showed a +15% increase between Q1 and Q3, indicating pockets of sustained or resurgent academic and public interest.