The fourth volume of "The History of Sexuality," the last major work by Michel Foucault, awaited its publication for over thirty years. Although the philosopher's will did not allow for posthumous publications, in 2013, his executor, Daniel Defert, sold the handwritten and typewritten originals of the book to the National Library of France. Following this, Foucault's family decided that the work should be made accessible to researchers and readers.

Five years later, in 2018, "Confessions of the Flesh" was published by Gallimard under the editorship of Frédéric Gros, who completed the preparation of the text by meticulously cross-referencing it with the manuscript and refining the reference apparatus. A little over a year later, the translation of Foucault's final book was released in Russian.

While the second and third volumes of "The History of Sexuality," published in 1984 and translated into Russian in the early 2000s, focused on the analysis of how ancient authors perceived the pleasures of love and practices of self-improvement, in "Confessions of the Flesh," Foucault explores the attitudes toward carnal love, procreation, and marriage among leading thinkers of early Christianity—from John Chrysostom to Augustine of Hippo.

A detailed examination of their works reveals how, within the framework of early Christian regulation of family life, an understanding of sexuality began to emerge, which later developed during the Middle Ages and the Modern era.