Michel Foucault’s friendship with Simeon Wade is a fascinating yet somewhat lesser-known aspect of Foucault’s life, primarily because of Wade’s role in introducing Foucault to the Californian counterculture during the philosopher’s visit to the United States in 1975. Their connection offers a unique perspective on Foucault’s personal and intellectual life, particularly his interest in alternative lifestyles, self-exploration, and his willingness to engage with experiences outside the European academic milieu.
Who Was Simeon Wade?
• Simeon Wade was an American academic, historian, and philosophy lecturer. At the time of his friendship with Foucault, Wade was teaching at Claremont Graduate University in California.
• He admired Foucault’s work and sought to bring the French philosopher into contact with the vibrant intellectual and cultural atmosphere of California in the 1970s.
The 1975 Visit and Friendship
1. How They Met:
• Simeon Wade and his partner, Michael Stoneman, invited Foucault to California during one of Foucault’s trips to the United States in 1975. Wade had been deeply influenced by Foucault’s writings and wanted to introduce him to the unique cultural scene in California, including its countercultural movements and alternative practices.
2. The LSD Experience in Death Valley:
• The most famous aspect of Foucault’s friendship with Wade is the LSD trip in Death Valley, organized by Wade and Stoneman. This experience is often described as transformative for Foucault, who reportedly called it one of the most profound events of his life.
• According to Wade, Foucault experienced an intense sense of freedom and self-transcendence during the trip, which resonated with his philosophical interest in the fluidity of subjectivity and the limits of experience.
3. Exploration of Californian Counterculture:
• Wade introduced Foucault to various aspects of Californian counterculture, including the gay liberation movement, communal living, and experimental lifestyles. These encounters influenced Foucault’s understanding of resistance, freedom, and alternative ways of living.
4. Personal Connection:
• Beyond their intellectual engagement, Wade and Foucault shared a warm personal bond. Wade saw Foucault not just as a towering intellectual figure but as a curious, playful, and adventurous individual.
Impact of the Friendship
1. Philosophical Influence:
• While it is difficult to measure the exact impact of this friendship on Foucault’s later work, the experiences he had in California, facilitated by Wade, likely reinforced his later focus on ethics, freedom, and practices of the self.
• The LSD trip and exposure to alternative lifestyles may have deepened his interest in exploring how individuals can create new forms of subjectivity and resist normative structures.
2. Cultural Engagement:
• Foucault’s time with Wade marked a significant moment of engagement with non-European cultural practices, broadening his perspective on alternative modes of resistance and self-transformation.
3. Legacy of the Friendship:
• Simeon Wade later wrote about his time with Foucault in a memoir titled “Foucault in California” (2019), which provides a rare and intimate glimpse into Foucault’s life during this period. The book captures Foucault’s openness to new experiences and his philosophical curiosity in action.
Critiques and Reactions
1. Romanticizing Foucault’s Experience:
• Some critics have questioned the significance of the LSD trip and Wade’s portrayal of its impact on Foucault’s philosophy. They suggest that while it might have been a profound personal experience, it should not be overstated as a major influence on Foucault’s intellectual trajectory.
2. Humanizing Foucault:
• Wade’s account, however, is valuable for offering a more personal, humanizing perspective on Foucault, showing him as someone willing to engage with experimental and radical experiences, not just as a distant and austere intellectual figure.
Conclusion
Foucault’s friendship with Simeon Wade highlights an important moment in his life when he stepped outside the boundaries of European academia to engage with the radical cultural and philosophical experimentation of 1970s California. This friendship, particularly the famed LSD trip in Death Valley, reflects Foucault’s lifelong interest in freedom, resistance, and the exploration of the self. While the philosophical impact of these experiences is debated, they undeniably add depth to our understanding of Foucault as both a thinker and a person.
