Philosophy Of Immanence Research Articles

A Deleuzian Dialogue between Leibniz and Ruyer: Monads, Absolute Survey and Life

In The Fold, Deleuze regards Raymond Ruyer as the most recent of Leibniz's great disciples. This claim is not self-evident, since Ruyer often criticises Leibniz and stresses the divergence of his theory from Leibniz's monadological metaphysics. Therefore, while Ruyer does not seem to regard himself as indebted to Leibniz, and as his psychobiology is not always reconcilable with Leibniz's philosophy, it is necessary to explore what is at stake in Deleuze's recognition of Ruyer as a Leibnizian thinker. This essay foregrounds the tacit intertwining between Leibniz and Ruyer, which can, on the one hand, contribute to Leibniz's scholarship and uncover the contemporaneity of his thought, and on the other hand, expose certain revealing Ruyerian moments in Deleuze's immanent philosophy.

Apontamentos acerca das referências de Freud a Schopenhauer

Este artigo tem por objetivo apresentar e analisar as referências de Freud a Schopenhauer acerca do conceito de pulsão. Freud mantém sempre uma relação reticente com a filosofia, sobretudo, em termos de referências textuais, o que se justifica pela sua preocupação em atribuir um campo fundante para a psicanálise (Assoun, 1978). Apesar disso, são inúmeras as referências filosóficas. Em relação a Schopenhauer, é realizada especificamente em Além do princípio de prazer (1920), no que se refere ao conceito de pulsão (Trieb), ao qual Freud assemelha à vontade (Wille) schopenhauriana e a dualidade nela presente. A vontade (Wille) remete à coisa-em-si kantiana, mas longe de ser uma razão transcendente, inaugura uma filosofia da imanência, onde o corpo e a sexualidade ganham relevância primordial que será novamente retomada pela psicanálise de Freud como principal campo de estudo.

Apontamentos acerca das referências de Freud a Schopenhauer: Trieb e Wille

This article aims to present and analyze Freud’s references to Schopenhauer about the concept of Trieb. Freud always keeps the reticent relationship with philosophy, above all, in terms of texts references, what is justified for his worry in assigning psychoanalysis a founding field (ASSOUN, 1978). Although, there are numberless philosophical references. In relation to Schopenhauer, it is carried specifically in Beyond the pleasure principle (1920), with regard to the concept of Trieb, to which Freud liken the Schopenhauerian will (Wille) and the duality present in it. Will (Wille) refers to the Kantian thing-in-itself, but far from being a transcendent reason, it inaugurates a philosophy of immanence, where the body and sexuality gain primordial relevance that will be taken up again by Freud’s psychoanalysis as a main field of study.

Becoming Child of the Moment through Deleuzian Philosophy and Sufism

Abstract My goal here is to make use of Deleuzian philosophy as a springboard for cultivating “being a child of the moment,” which is a phrase stemming from Sufism. Being fully present and aware in each moment is associated with surrendering oneself to the divine will and accepting whatever comes in the present moment without resistance. Unlike approaches that translate Deleuzian insights into theological concepts, the way of proceeding here involves traversing his philosophy, similar to traversing the phantasy in Lacanian psychoanalysis. Consequently, it neither fully adopts nor rejects Deleuzian philosophy but offers a parallax view that aims at deepening one’s connection with transcendence. The underlying premise is that strengthening this connection can be enhanced by engaging with an immanent philosophy that acknowledges non-representable singularities, provided its limitations are clearly delineated to prevent absorption into the depths and intricacies of that philosophy. To this end, the contrasting perspectives of eternity as a realm of potentialities and eternity as a timeless dimension detached from worldly connections are emphasized. During the writing process, the publication of MM Knight’s book “Sufi Deleuze” added a tangible ally and opponent, thereby lending further justification to the article’s title in retrospective. At the end, I will also delve into the relationship between Deleuzian philosophy and Derridean ontology, the realms of mysticism, and the existential aspect of death, and elucidate why Deleuzian philosophy can serve as a pivot for character development.

Pharmaco-Analysis of Psychedelics—Philo-Fictions about New Materialism, Quantum Mechanics, Information Science, and the Philosophy of Immanence

Recent developments regarding the pharmacology of psychoactive substances are significant for treating depressions or opioid addictions. Current theories, hypotheses, and models of drug effects assume a cause–effect narrative, which is based on a stimulus/response mechanism. These narratives prioritize effects rather than conscious experiences. In this sense, drug experiences are quickly subsumed into common categories and codes of biological determinism. If subjective experiences are in the focus of the research, it quickly becomes a link to mystical, spiritual, or transcendental narratives. These classifications lead to epistemological doublets (Gadamer). In this article, psychedelic experiences of drug users are analyzed in the frame of the pharmaco-analysis by Deleuze/Guattari. These framed psychedelic experiences are interpreted by means of a non-philosophical approach through philo-fictions (Laruelle), i.e., contradictory assumptions and hyperspeculations. In this respect, the aim of this article is to bring philo-fictions in relation to psychedelic experiences and to discuss them with models of information science, quantum mechanics, new materialism, and the philosophy of immanence. The result will be an open synthesis, with the assumption of further reflections on the agency, immanence, and the wholeness of matter.

The Formation and Critique of Dilthey’s Religious Philosophy of Immanence

The Formation and Critique of Dilthey’s Religious Philosophy of Immanence

CHRISTINE DAIGLE — TERRANCE H. McDONALD (eds.): From Deleuze and Guattari to Posthumanism: Philosophies of Immanence

CHRISTINE DAIGLE — TERRANCE H. McDONALD (eds.): From Deleuze and Guattari to Posthumanism: Philosophies of Immanence

Poststructuralism and Post Qualitative Inquiry: What Can and Must Be Thought

St. Pierre argues that the immanent concepts and onto-epistemological arrangements of scholars we call poststructural, postmodern, posthuman, and other “posts” do not enable preexisting, conventional, humanist 20th-century social science research methodologies that are not immanent. For that reason, scholars are now inventing and teaching new approaches to inquiry based on old philosophies of immanence in which those methodologies cannot be thought or done.

Christine Daigle and Terrance H. McDonald (eds.), From Deleuze and Guattari to Posthumanism: Philosophies of Immanence

A review of From Deleuze and Guattari to Posthumanism: Philosophies of Immanence, edited by Christine Daigle and Terrance H. McDonald

The Immanent Infinite

The Immanent Infinite

Тело как оно есть. От феноменологии тела к онтологии телесного бытия = Ramírez M. T. El cuerpo por sí mismo. De la fenomenología del cuerpo a la ontología del ser corporal / пер. с исп. А. К. Жапаровой

This article analyzes the «corporal turn» of Philosophy in XX Century. It parts from the revaluation of the body undertaken by Nietzsche against a tradition that probably emphasized too much the spirituality of the soul, ripping it from the body. A properly thought «Philosophy of the body» could bring back that reality which modern criticism has driven so far away. To offer a way out of universal solipsism, it is necessary a Philosophy of the body capable of rethinking Realism. MerlauPonty and Jean-Luc Nancy’s approaches to a Philosophy of corporality and of flesh are presented, then. The next section deals with the consequences of the corporal turn of Philosophy in relation to Ontology: it shows the way from the body to Being. The exemplar exteriority with which Nancy defines the body allows us to calibrate — in the sense of an immanent Philosophy which is not done, closed or definite — an atheism free from naïve and a kind of Ontological Realism free from abstractions or dogmatism. To close the cycle, «New Realism» approach, defended by Markus Gabril, Ferraris and Harman, amongst others, is presented and defended. The intention of this article is to present a way in which it is possible to formulate a new Ontology, a new conception of Being and existence, a realistic, materialistic ontology of the corporal being inasmuch the extra-corporal being.

A Priori Problems with the Metaphysical and Causal Reduction of Consciousness

Consciousness exists, or so it seems to us most of the time. However, consciousness is unlike your car-keys or your cell-phone in that it is not located at a specific point in space and time. The applicability of physical laws like gravity seem moot at best when it comes to consciousness. What is desirable is an explanation of consciousness that allows it to exist and be part of the very same reality as the car-key or the cell-phone, a ‘philosophy of immanence’ as Gilles Deleuze would put it. I prefer a view that construes consciousness as causally-efficacious (having material effects upon one’s body in real time) and metaphysically separate from the brain. In essence, to say that the mind is metaphysically separate from the brain is to deny the proposition that there is nothing more to our subjective experience of mind than the mere activity of the physical brain. This paper looks at a view proposed by John Searle and tries to show that there are empirical problems with a consciousness that is causally inefficacious (unable to cause material changes) and metaphysically identical (not separate from the brain).

Is It Possible to Think Physical Education Forward and Dismantle Ourselves—in a Quantum Space?

This paper invites readers to an encounter of novel learning in the school subject physical education, and specifically swimming training. In collaboration with Deleuze’s immanent philosophy and creative observations in a case-assemblage, I speculate about productive experiences and educational events as movements toward physical activation, higher education, and the dissolution of health inequalities. Troubling situations of a standardized model of swimming training is combined with a quantum space where multiple divergent ideas, forces, and feelings interact and produce unforeseen learnings, values, and qualities. Frictions between segmented spaces and quantum spaces orient/reorient the student’s/swimming instructor’s/my/your? learning, values, and qualities. Finally, I emphasize quantum spaces as the heart of educational movement and the importance of creating open educational systems to perhaps think physical education forward.

Philosophie in der Welt und für die Welt – Realitätsbezüge einer Disziplin zweiter Ordnung

According to a widely accepted conception, philosophy is essentially a second-order discipline raising second-order questions about the procedures and products of first-order reasonings (concepts; principles; theories etc.). While this conception has considerable prima facie plausibility and, carefully put, contains a grain of truth, it also invites serious misunderstandings that may be detrimental to an adequate understanding and public image of philosophy. To work out the grain of truth while avoiding the misunderstandings, I begin by asking: What is philosophical understanding? In answering this question, understanding in philosophy is compared and contrasted with everyday understanding, on the one hand, and scientific understanding, on the other hand. While philosophy itself is a scientific practice in a wide sense, in contrast to normal understanding within a special scientific discipline (physics; chemistry; biology; psychology; etc.) philosophical understanding is characterized by a particular critical attitude and particular principles of rational acceptability.

Andrea Long Chu and the Trouble with Desire

This essay discusses the writings by Andrea Long Chu, focusing on her understanding of desire and its role in the formation of gender and in the process of gender transition. The essay also deals with her much-disputed understanding of the relation between desire and politics, taking into account the critique formulated by Amia Srinivasan. In conclusion the essay argues that Chu’s writings, if taken with a dose of caution and supplemented with the theory of desire formulated by Jacques Lacan, can offer us insights about the importance of desire for understanding various phenomena of human experience, in which we otherwise maybe wouldn’t look for it. Author(s): Andrija Koštal Title (English): Andrea Long Chu and the Trouble with Desire Journal Reference: Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 17, No. 2-3 (Winter 2020) Publisher: Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities - Skopje Page Range: 70-74 Page Count: 5 Citation (English): Andrija Koštal, “Andrea Long Chu and the Trouble with Desire,” Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 17, No. 2-3 (Winter 2020): 70-74. Author Biography Andrija Koštal, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb Andrija Koštal is a student of comparative literature at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, about to graduate with a topic on the discourse of illness in a European modernist novel. His primary field of research concerns the relationship between literature and philosophy throughout the history of modernity (especially through the Twentieth century). On the part of philosophy, he is interested in the philosophy of immanence, non-philosophy/non-standard philosophy and some forms of materialism. Other areas of interest include artificial intelligence, ecology and feminism. Published a few articles in various Croatian scientific journals.

Schelling as a Thinker of Immanence: contra Heidegger and Jaspers

Among the different interpretations of the philosophy of Schelling, there is no doubt that the ones developed by Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers played a prominent role within the most recent Schelling scholarship. Both Heidegger and Jaspers focused on Schelling’s discourse on freedom, pointing out the fundamental incompatibility of its key elements, i.e. ‘ground’ and ‘existence’, as well as the fallacious conception of Seynsfuge that emerges from it. Moreover, Heidegger argues that Schelling’s ontology ultimately falls back into traditional metaphysical subjectivism, ignoring the question of Being as such and in fact paving the way to nihilism. Similarly, Jaspers criticizes Schelling’s arbitrary account of the relation between freedom and existential being and his misleading conception of transcendence. However, I argue against Jaspers that Schelling’s discourse on freedom must be read as a philosophy of immanence, which aims at maintaining the concreteness of the concepts and at avoiding any form of transcendence. Consequently, I also argue against Heidegger that not only does Schelling’s discourse successfully show the compatibility of ground and existence, but that Schelling’s understanding of the ‘subject’ does not comply with Heidegger’s notion of ‘metaphysical subjectivism’ and is immune to Heidegger’s criticism.

Teologia pracy: asceza, kenoza, apokalipsa

The subject of this essay is the modern theology of work. Contrary to neoplatonism that condemned matter as unworthy of spiritual investment, theology of work states that matter is an ontological material that deserves further processing. Therefore, if modernity is to be understood as the beginning of the materialistic philosophy of immanence, early modern theological transformations have deeply contributed to this. Namely, the appreciation of matter as a realistically existing material to work through, the not yet ready and not fully shaped element of creation justifying the creatio continua in the human version, has certainly inaugurated a turn towards temporality, far less random than Max Weber thought. In Weber’s classic approach, Puritan theology played the role of a catalyst for modernity, creating the concept of “intra-world asceticism”. It stood for work conceived as Beruf which, in line with the Lutheran concept, means “profession and vocation”. However, the author points to another – no more ascetic – theological genealogy of the modern idea of work, whose sources lie in the vision of the delayed apocalypse or, in other words, creative destruction. This extraordinary theology of work has its roots in the nominalism of Duns Scotus, the Kabbalah of Isaac Luria, then transformed into the Christian Kabbalah, Goethe’s Faust and particularly in Hegel’s dialectical concept of work performed by the destructive and yet suppressed negativity.

The Arts and New Materialism: A Call to Stewardship through Mercy, Grace, and Hope

During highly polarized times, issues are quickly addressed in ways that emphasize divisions. To support the healing of our polarized culture through art, new materialist theory as presented by Karen Barad and Rosi Braidotti will be entangled with art and artmaking according to Dennis Atkinson and Makoto Fujimura to argue for art as an act of environmental and cultural stewardship, creating new possibilities and differences in the virtual that are merciful, graceful, and hopeful. To form this argument, first a summary of new materialism and ethics through Agential Realism and Affirmative Ethics is addressed. Next, a cartography including scientific and theological perspectives is presented for a diffractive reading regarding the concepts of mercy, grace, and hope to develop a new materialist understanding through a philosophy of immanence to counter the circular perpetuation of violence. These concepts are then individually addressed through the proposed new materialist framework to further break from material-discursive dualistic thought. This approach is then explored through various artworks to investigate the co-constructing material-discursive nature of art to create new relations and possibilities in the world. Finally, an in-depth study of the artworks Becoming Us by Megan Constance Altieri and Teeter-Totter Wall by Ronald Rael are addressed to detail how a new materialist approach to art that focuses on the concepts of mercy, grace, and hope can position art as an act of stewardship.

The Image of Philosophy in Indian Culture: Etymology and Untranslatability of Terms

The Image of Philosophy in Indian Culture: Etymology and Untranslatability of Terms

Intersections between philosophy and art: expressions of immanence in the seventeenth century — Spinoza and Vermeer

ABSTRACTSpinoza's philosophy of immanence represents a turning point that radically changed our conception of human agency and its relation to infinity. Hans Blumenberg rightly called the principle of immanence “a general hypothesis of the epoch”, a principle that applies to philosophy no less than to the sciences and arts in the seventeenth century. This article looks at Dutch paintings by drawing parallels between Spinoza's philosophy and Vermeer's work. Spinoza and Vermeer both deny a dualistic conception of the world and a hierarchical structure between inner and outer spheres. With the example of Vermeer's painting the Milkmaid, this article shows how an analysis of light and colour, time and space, reveal a vision of immanent infinity, with the human agent at its centre.