Summary of Michel Foucault's Confessions of the Flesh

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#1 The aphrodisia regime, defined in terms of marriage, procreation, and a disqualification of pleasure, was formulated by non-Christian philosophers and teachers, and their pagan society followed it. Christians did not follow this code of conduct, but they did follow the same principles.

#2 The work of Clement of Alexandria, at the end of the second century, offers a much ampler testimony concerning the aphrodisia regime as it seems to have been incorporated into Christian thought. The Paedagogus, though, has a different purpose: it is addressed to Christians after their conversion and their baptism, not to pagans still making their way toward the Church.

#3 The Paedagogus is a collection of rules for living a Christian life. It defines right behavior, but it also defines the right actions that lead to eternal life. The Logos, which is the principle of right action and the movement toward salvation, is the rationality of the real world and the word of God calling one to eternity.

#4 The second and third books of the Paedagogus are a code for living. Underneath the apparent disorder of the chapters, which discuss drinking, luxury in furnishings, and table manners, there is a depiction of regimen.

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Release date

Ebook: 27 April 2022