The Quoted Line:
“The ‘notion of author’ constitutes the privileged moment of individualization in the history of ideas, knowledge, literature, philosophy, and the sciences.”
This line reflects Michel Foucault’s central thesis in “What is an Author?” (1969), where he analyzes the function and historical evolution of the author figure, especially in relation to discourses in philosophy, science, and literature.
✅ Why Option 2 is Correct:
Michel Foucault's "What is an Author?" (1969) – Core Ideas:
Author as a Function (Not a Person):
Foucault challenges the traditional view of an author as the origin of meaning. Instead, he introduces the idea of the “author-function”, which is a discursive role shaped by institutions, history, and ideology.
Individualization of Discourse:
The quoted line speaks to how the concept of an “author” emerged historically as a way to individualize bodies of work, to assign ownership, accountability, and identity to discourses — especially after the 18th century.
Application to Multiple Fields:
He extends this analysis beyond literature, to philosophy, science, and knowledge production, which is reflected in the line you quoted.
Historical Shifts:
The essay discusses how, over time, the importance of the author grew as a regulatory principle in Western societies — tying knowledge to individuals rather than anonymous or collective discourse.
❌ Why Other Options Are Incorrect:
1. “The Death of the Author” – Roland Barthes
This essay also critiques the author’s role but focuses more on liberating the text from authorial intention, arguing that meaning resides with the reader, not the author.
Although thematically related, Barthes doesn’t use the quoted line, nor does he frame the author as a “privileged moment of individualization” across knowledge domains.
3. “Heirs of the Living Body”
This is not a recognized essay within this context, and the title does not correspond to any foundational literary or philosophical theory on authorship.
4. “What is New Formalism”
New Formalism is a movement that revisits formalist approaches to literature, focusing on structure and aesthetics.
It doesn’t engage with the philosophical conceptualization of the author-function or authorship in historical terms like Foucault.
Year-wise PYQs
