Cogito and the History of Madness

Cogito and the History of Madness is a 1963 paper by the French philosopher Jacques Derrida.

Historical account

• It critically responds to Michel Foucault's book History of Madness.
• In this paper, Derrida questions the intentions and feasibility of Foucault's book, particularly in relation to the historical importance attributed by Foucault to the treatment of madness by Descartes in the Meditations on First Philosophy.
• Derrida's paper began a high-profile exchange between Derrida and Foucault as well as a considerable amount of attention from scholars.
• Foucault responded directly to Derrida in an appendix added to the 1972 edition of the History of Madness titled My body, this paper, this fire.
• Derrida again considered Foucault's 1961 text on madness with To do Justice to Freud: The History of madness.

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