Moral Values from the Perspective of Postmodern Thinkers: Michel Foucault as a Case Study – An Analytical and Critical Study

Elhady Zakaria Shehata, Ahmed

doi:10.21608/bfsgm.2025.441721

Moral Values from the Perspective of Postmodern Thinkers: Michel Foucault as a Case Study – An Analytical and Critical Study

Author

Ahmed Elhady zakaria shehata

Al-Azhar University

10.21608/bfsgm.2025.441721

Abstract

This study examines moral values from the perspective of postmodern thought, focusing on the philosophical contributions of Michel Foucault. Moral inquiry occupies a central place in Foucault’s work, particularly in his historical analyses of ancient sexual ethics. He investigates the emergence of morality as a mode of reflection on sexuality, desire, pleasure, and gratification. Central to his project is the examination of how ethical attitudes are historically constructed and their relation to political structures—particularly the interplay between self-discipline, the regulation of others, and the epistemic frameworks through which the self and human activity are constituted. For Foucault, sexuality cannot be understood as an expression of a sovereign self external to power.
The study employs an analytical method to explore Foucault’s ethical discourse, a critical method to assess its philosophical coherence and implications, and a comparative method to consider Foucault’s views alongside related positions in modern philosophy.
The study concludes that Foucault’s ethical vision may be described as nihilistic and anarchic, premised on the erasure of meaning and the deconstruction of reason, logic, order, and coherence. It offers no constructive or practical alternatives but rather advances a form of irrationalism that fosters despair, skepticism, and disorder within society.
The study recommends the necessity of engaging critically with contemporary intellectual currents in European thought, particularly those that approach religious discourse from a reductive or oppositional stance. Such critical engagement is essential in view of the potential influence these ideas may have on younger generations.

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