Gilles Deleuze

Author profile

born

in Paris, France

January 18, 1925

died

November 04, 1995

website

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/deleuze/

genre

Philosophy, Social Sciences, Politics

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Deleuze is a key figure in postmodern French philosophy. Considering himself an empiricist and a vitalist, his body of work, which rests upon concepts such as multiplicity, constructivism, difference and desire, stands at a substantial remove from the main traditions of 20th century Continental thought. His thought locates him as an influential figure in present-day considerations of society, creativity and subjectivity. Notably, within his metaphysics he favored a Spinozian concept of a plane of immanence with everything a mode of one substance, and thus on the same level of existence. He argued, then, that there is no good and evil, but rather only relationships which are beneficial or harmful to the particular individuals. This ethics in...more Deleuze is a key figure in postmodern French philosophy. Considering himself an empiricist and a vitalist, his body of work, which rests upon concepts such as multiplicity, constructivism, difference and desire, stands at a substantial remove from the main traditions of 20th century Continental thought. His thought locates him as an influential figure in present-day considerations of society, creativity and subjectivity. Notably, within his metaphysics he favored a Spinozian concept of a plane of immanence with everything a mode of one substance, and thus on the same level of existence. He argued, then, that there is no good and evil, but rather only relationships which are beneficial or harmful to the particular individuals. This ethics influences his approach to society and politics, especially as he was so politically active in struggles for rights and freedoms. Later in his career he wrote some of the more infamous texts of the period, in particular, Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus. These texts are collaborative works with the radical psychoanalyst Félix Guattari, and they exhibit Deleuze’s social and political commitment.

Gilles Deleuze began his career with a number of idiosyncratic yet rigorous historical studies of figures outside of the Continental tradition in vogue at the time. His first book, Empirisism and Subjectivity, isa study of Hume, interpreted by Deleuze to be a radical subjectivist. Deleuze became known for writing about other philosophers with new insights and different readings, interested as he was in liberating philosophical history from the hegemony of one perspective. He wrote on Spinoza, Nietzche, Kant, Leibniz and others, including literary authors and works, cinema, and art. Deleuze claimed that he did not write “about” art, literature, or cinema, but, rather, undertook philosophical “encounters” that led him to new concepts. As a constructivist, he was adamant that philosophers are creators, and that each reading of philosophy, or each philosophical encounter, ought to inspire new concepts. Additionally, according to Deleuze and his concepts of difference, there is no identity, and in repetition, nothing is ever the same. Rather, there is only difference: copies are something new, everything is constantly changing, and reality is a becoming, not a being.
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Average rating: 4.16 · 11,430 ratings · 532 reviews · 116 distinct works · Similar authors

	Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia by Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Brian Massumi (Translator) 4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 avg rating — 2,148 ratings — published 1987 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia by Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari, Felix Guattari (Contributor) 4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 2,129 ratings — published 1972 — 20 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nietzsche and Philosophy by Gilles Deleuze, Michael Hardt (Foreword by), Hugh Tomlinson (Translator) 4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 1,061 ratings — published 1962 — 18 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Difference and Repetition 4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 721 ratings — published 1968 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Masochism: Coldness and Cruelty & Venus in Furs by Gilles Deleuze, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch 4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 537 ratings — published 1971 — 4 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cinema 1: The Movement-Image by Gilles Deleuze, Hugh Tomlinson (Translator), Barbara Habberjam (Translator) 4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 536 ratings — published 1983 — 15 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	What Is Philosophy? by Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari 4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 477 ratings — published 1991 — 13 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature by Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari 4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 avg rating — 449 ratings — published 1975 — 9 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cinema 2: The Time-Image 4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 442 ratings — published 1985 — 10 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Spinoza: Practical Philosophy by Gilles Deleuze, Robert Hurley (Translator) 4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 263 ratings — published 1968 — 6 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Gilles Deleuze

“If you're trapped in the dream of the Other, you're fucked.”
― Gilles Deleuze

tags: dream, fucked-up, funny, humor, other, philosophy, relationships

137 people liked it

“A concept is a brick. It can be used to build a courthouse of reason. Or it can be thrown through the window.”
― Gilles Deleuze, Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia

tags: anarchy, freedom, inspirational, lateral-thinking, philosophy, rationalism

66 people liked it

“Writing has nothing to do with meaning. It has to do with landsurveying and cartography, including the mapping of countries yet to come.”
― Gilles Deleuze

tags: maps, organized-chaos, power-of-words, writing

59 people liked it

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