The History of Sexuality: 3 The Care of the Self

In the third volume of his acclaimed examination of sexuality in modern Western society, Foucault investigates the Golden Age of Rome to reveal a decisive break from the classical Greek version of sexual pleasure. Exploring the moral reflections of philosophers and physicians of the era, he identifies a growing anxiety over sexual activity and its consequences. At the core of this transformation Foucault found the principles of the "care of the self": the belief that the self is an object of knowledge to be cultivated over time, and the implications this has for ethics and behaviour.