Archives mensuelles : février 2019

We have seen that in contrast with Deleuze and Guattari’s espousal of deconstruction, de-territorialisation, and disorder evinced in their post-68 books (ANTI-OEDIPUS, KAFKA, A THOUSAND PLATEAUS) in their last book together they turn to a more ordered approach. We hypothesised … Lire la suite →

This distinction between structural demarcation and a-structural exchange poses a series of problems for the notion of discussion. From the perspective of demarcation, not only is it impossible for the philosopher to converse meaningfully not only with the partisans of … Lire la suite →

It is important to keep in mind that WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? is the result of a long-lasting collaborative effort, a work signed by two authors. When the title question « What is philosophy? » is posed on the first page, it is … Lire la suite →

I have been keeping as much as possible to WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? as distinct from Deleuze and Guattari’s other books written either together or separately, in order to see what distinguishes it from those other books, and also to determine … Lire la suite →

We have seen that Deleuze and Guattari propose a principle of demarcation between science and philosophy based on a metaphysics of the concept. One justification for this position is that Deleuze and Guattari are asking after a lifetime of philosophising: … Lire la suite →

From the beginning of WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? we are within the domain of the concept. « Old age » must be read as conceptual old age, the Idiot is a conceptual idiot, etc. This idea means that we are not in the … Lire la suite →

The title question What is philosophy? can be posed in two ways, from two perspectives, according to two approaches: the abstract and the concrete. Deleuze and Guattari assign the former to « youth » and the latter to « old age ». In a … Lire la suite →

I am reading closely Deleuze and Guattari’s WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? in order to find out what it may mean to « speak concretely ». Reading closely means reading « aux aguets », i.e. with attention, “on the lookout”, as Deleuze calls this state in … Lire la suite →

One of the general themes, or rules of thumb, of Deleuze and Guattari’s (non-)philosophy is that one cannot just begin at the beginning. We « begin » in the middle, but this is not an invitation to a euphoric swimming with the … Lire la suite →

In WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY? Deleuze and Guattari desire to « speak concretely ». As we have argued, a book of philosophy can be read by means of the hypothesis that it is proposing criteria by which to judge not only its interlocutors, … Lire la suite →