My fiancée bought me this entire set (three volumes) on "sexuality" by Foucault, showing how well she knows me and understands my thirst for understanding "sex" and so-called "sexuality". Foucault explains that the whole concept of sexuality did not even exist before the industrial revolution when the power structure began using it as a means to further its control over the masses. The first volume is an explanation of the basic philosophical concepts and ideas that are necessary to understand Foucault's more in depth look at the history (and development) of "sexuality" by studying social attitudes toward sex going all the way back to Greek and Roman times. He gives words and expression to a lot of basic ideas that I have long been acutely aware of, especially the way most people are deceived by the commonly held social and pseudo-science of sex ("scientia sexualis" as Foucault calls it) and "sexuality". This false view supports a very distorted and "perverted" (as Foucault himself says) social order that corrupts our children, our morals, and our natural ability to think and fend for ourselves, all to support and justify the power structure (a.k.a. "authorities").
Anyone who really wants to understand why I did what I did (rape/murder) should read this book. It's an excellent "introduction" to the cultural and social history that lead to my type of crimes, and continues to do so. Except Foucault takes it much further than that. He explains that the real "perverts" in our culture are all the so-called "experts" telling us who the "perverts" are. We live in a perverted culture of perverts telling us all the ways everyone else is perverted. (Of course I'm over-simplifying Foucault's philosophy in my own interest. So you'll have to read these books for yourself to appreciate Foucault's real genius.)
