--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do identify the escape hatch through…" description: "\"I do identify the escape hatch through which Foucault eludes the charge that he himself is an author/authority, hence a tyrant. He establishes the cate..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/paul-fry-29543_authority_i-do-identify-the-escape-hatch-through-w_1991446.jpg" --- # I do identify the escape hatch through which Foucault… ![“I do identify the escape hatch through which Foucault eludes the charge that he himself is an author/authority, hence a tyrant. He establishes the category of "founder of discursivity" for the authors he likes. Slippery, perhaps, but you can see what he means.” quote by Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/paul-fry-29543_authority_i-do-identify-the-escape-hatch-through-w_1991446.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/paul-fry-29543_authority_i-do-identify-the-escape-hatch-through-w_1991446.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef3/paul-fry-29543_authority_i-do-identify-the-escape-hatch-through-w_1991446.jpg) > “I do identify the escape hatch through which Foucault eludes the charge that he himself is an author/authority, hence a tyrant. He establishes the category of "founder of discursivity" for the authors he likes. Slippery, perhaps, but you can see what he means.” [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Foucault avoids being labeled an author/authority by positioning himself as a founder of discourse, creating a category that protects his status. **In simple terms:** Foucault sidesteps criticism by redefining his role. Key Takeaway Recognize how labels shape authority. Themes philosophy power authorial identity Mood analytical critical Type philosophical theoretical When to use this quote - academic debates - critical essays - media analysis Key Concepts discourse theory Foucault’s critique Questions to Reflect On - How do labels affect authority? - Can we trust self‑designated titles? A Different Perspective Such redefinition may obscure accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foucault/) [Founders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/founders/) [Tyrants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrants/) ## Related quotes > [“I rehearsed Foucault's argument that the presence of madness on our doorstep is good for us, for it reminds us the life we live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-greenberg/i-rehearsed-foucault-s-argument-that-the-presence-of-madness-on-our/) [Michael Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-greenberg/) > [“subjected. In Discipline and Punish Foucault shows that alongside the maturation of the capitalist system of production the scientific location & elucidation of “the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bernstein/subjected-in-discipline-and-punish-foucault-shows-that-alongside-the/) [Charles Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bernstein/) > [“People will be surprised at the eagerness with which we went about pretending to rouse from its slumber a sexuality which every­thing-our discourses, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/people-will-be-surprised-at-the-eagerness-with-which-we-went-about/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [ “\[Foucault's\] criticism is not transcendental, and its goal is not that of making a metaphysics possible: it is genealogical in its design and archaeological… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rabinow/foucault-s-criticism-is-not-transcendental-and-its-goal-is-not-that/) Paul Rabinow > [ “Calling sex by its name thereafter \[the 17th c.\] became more difficult and more costly. As if in order to gain mastery of it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foucault-michel/calling-sex-by-its-name-thereafter-the-17th-c-became-more-difficult/) Foucault Michel > [Foucault's genius is to go down to the little dramas, dress them in facts hardly anyone else has noticed, and turn these stage settings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/foucault-s-genius-is-to-go-down-to-the-little-dramas-dress-them-in/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [It's time for a recovery and reassessment of North American thinkers. Marshall McLuhan, Leslie Fiedler and Norman O. Brown are the linked triad I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/it-s-time-for-a-recovery-and-reassessment-of-north-american-thinkers/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“The velocity of light is one of the most important of the fundamental constants of Nature. Its measurement by Foucault and Fizeau gave as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-michelson/the-velocity-of-light-is-one-of-the-most-important-of-the-fundamental/) A.A. Michelson > [There is a constant rush to judgment in Foucault. He is filled with specious generalizations, false categories, distortions, fudging, pretenses to knowledge in areas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/there-is-a-constant-rush-to-judgment-in-foucault-he-is-filled-with/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [“I never could read Foucault. I find philosophy tedious. All of my knowledge comes from reading novels and some history. I read Being and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/i-never-could-read-foucault-i-find-philosophy-tedious-all-of-my/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [ “This book first arose out of a passage in \[Jorge Luis\] Borges, out of the laughter that shattered, as I read the passage, all… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/this-book-first-arose-out-of-a-passage-in-jorge-luis-borges-out-of/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [“But what Marie-Laure remembered, standing at the rail as it whistled past, was her father saying that Foucault's pendulum would never stop. It would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/but-what-marie-laure-remembered-standing-at-the-rail-as-it-whistled/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [“Wherever you put it, Foucault’s Pendulum swings from a motionless point while the earth rotates beneath it. Every point of the universe is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/wherever-you-put-it-foucault-s-pendulum-swings-from-a-motionless/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning’ (‘Truth, Power, Self’, 9). Foucault”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gutting/the-main-interest-in-life-and-work-is-to-become-someone-else-that-you/) [Gary Gutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gutting/) > [“The time for argument was over: Foucault wanted to crush an enemy, even though he claimed he loathed this kind of attack, in one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beno-t-peeters/the-time-for-argument-was-over-foucault-wanted-to-crush-an-enemy-even/) [Benoît Peeters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beno-t-peeters/) ## More by Paul Fry > [The mantra of the new historicists was "we have betrayed ourselves." Since their emergence, there have been more or less interesting paradigm shifts having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/the-mantra-of-the-new-historicists-was-we-have-betrayed-ourselves/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [The rhetoric of theory is always in a bind. It pronounces ideas and denounces failures to accept or grasp them while insisting that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/the-rhetoric-of-theory-is-always-in-a-bind-it-pronounces-ideas-and/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [I beg my reader to consider the "evidence" I provide for my case and perhaps feel persuaded as a result. Beyond that I make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/i-beg-my-reader-to-consider-the-evidence-i-provide-for-my-case-and/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [I make a distinction between theory and methodology, the latter being the practical deployment of a premise. Theory on the contrary may well be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/i-make-a-distinction-between-theory-and-methodology-the-latter-being/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [Criticism is concerned with evaluation. There may be evaluative principles implicit in this or that form of theory, but theory in and of itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/criticism-is-concerned-with-evaluation-there-may-be-evaluative/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [Both the 18th and the early 20th centuries, however, feature brilliant attacks on originality, and it's no doubt one of the hallmarks of romanticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/both-the-18th-and-the-early-20th-centuries-however-feature-brilliant/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [I'm not only a romanticist but a romantic myself. I take it for granted the originality matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/i-m-not-only-a-romanticist-but-a-romantic-myself-i-take-it-for/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [I'm a fan or naysayer like everyone else, not an authority of any kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/i-m-a-fan-or-naysayer-like-everyone-else-not-an-authority-of-any-kind/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [Although I don't disagree that utterances express desires and try to make complexities precise, I actually don't think at all that any of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/although-i-don-t-disagree-that-utterances-express-desires-and-try-to/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [The basic change in the landscape since my salad days started with the defensive rediscovery of history and politics by all the theoretically-oriented academics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/the-basic-change-in-the-landscape-since-my-salad-days-started-with/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [I don't think theory adds to criticism. (Methodology does, for better or worse.) Theory's function is to make criticism self-conscious, maybe even a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/i-don-t-think-theory-adds-to-criticism-methodology-does-for-better-or/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [Authors we are in danger of accepting as gospel, whereas founders of discursivity provide permeable ideas that we can elaborate upon in a tradition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/authors-we-are-in-danger-of-accepting-as-gospel-whereas-founders-of/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [I myself always want to talk about "poetry," not "the poem."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/i-myself-always-want-to-talk-about-poetry-not-the-poem/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [Every original poet has a new insight, or rather introduces a new power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/every-original-poet-has-a-new-insight-or-rather-introduces-a-new-power/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [“It might be worth pausing over the variety of ways in which we can think of signs in language, all of which have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/it-might-be-worth-pausing-over-the-variety-of-ways-in-which-we-can/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) [Explore all 18 Paul Fry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) ## More Authority quotes > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. 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