Albert, Eliot (1999) Towards a schizogenealogy of heretical materialism : between Bruno and Spinoza, Nietzsche, Deleuze and other philosophical recluses. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The central problematic of this thesis is the formation of a philosophy of creative
matter, a philosophical materialism, deriving from the work of Gilles Deleuze Fdlix and Guattari, and based substantially upon an examination of the consequences
of their engagement with the philosophical tradition. I have supplemented the
writers used by Deleuze and Guattari with the resources of Giordano Bruno's
philosophy, as well as numerous examples and arguments from the natural
sciences. Bruno is particularly important here, in that in his work and life,
materialism is most tightly bound up with monism. Philosophical materialist
monism can be crystallised as a sustained meditation upon one problem: that of
the overcoming of dualism; and in this sense to speak of materialism is to speak of
the problem of hylomorphism. The hylomorphic model, formalised by Aristotle, and
operative in both philosophy and science, implies both a transcendent form that
organises matter, and a dead matter, passively moulded by the imposition of that
form. These ontological and epistemological assumptions have clear political and
theological ramifications, contributing to an abstract diagram of State power. The
critique of this model calls for a philosophy of active, self-organising matter- a
necessarily heretical, materialist thought, constitutionally opposed to all
transcendent powers.
I In this chapter I produce a performative diagram of DeleuzeGuattari's
understanding of the heterogenetic nature of the concept by examining those of
drive, assemblage, multiplicity. The case used here is the linked complex of
problems associated with death and entropy. These issues are posed throughout as
means of indicating Deleuze and Guattari's challenge to dominant modes of
philosophising.
II Here I offer an elaboration of Deleuze and Guattari's relationship with
cybernetics, through an outline of the work of Gilbert Simondon. The principal
concepts developed here, are individuation and becoming. This is followed by
extensive critiques of hylomorphism and autopoiesis. The categories of minor or
nomad, and major or State, sciences, are introduced along with the related concepts
of following and reproducing.
III This chapter explores the oppositions between consistency and
organisation; immanence and transcendence. Here I read two of Deleuze and
Guattari's key concepts- intensity and incorporeal transformation- in terms of
Spinoza and Schelling respectively. Symbiosis and morphogenesis are examined as
examples of the minor sciences introduced in the previous chapter. The minor then
poses the questions of invention and pragmatics in philosophy.
IV This chapter is devoted to a critique of Manuel De Landa's reading of
Deleuze and Guattari that aims to demonstrate, against his claims, the centrality
of Marx to their philosophy. The chapter also elaborates upon the concepts of
Geophilosophy, the machinic phylum, and machinic surplus value.
V This chapter offers a set of elaborations upon the nature of the materialism
produced by bringing the thought of Giordano Bruno into contact with that of
Deleuze, thereby transforming both. Inverted vitalism is posed as a key marker of
Deleuze's genealogy. I show the identity of metaphysics and politics, and its role in
an account of materialist heresy.
VI The final chapter consists of a critique of Kant's claim to being `Copernican',
and Copernicus' claim to being revolutionary. It demonstrates the extent of Bruno's
cosmological revolution. I use Nietzsche's `perfect nihilist' to further the ideas of
invention and heresy advanced earlier, to end with a demonstration of philosophy's
ever present becomings hybrid, as opposed to dominant ideas of its being in a
permanent state of mourning.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Deleuze, Gilles, 1925-1995 -- Criticism and interpretation, Guattari, Félix, 1930-1992 -- Criticism and interpretation, Materialism
Official Date:	May 1999
Dates:	Date Event May 1999 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Philosophy
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Ansell-Pearson, Keith, 1960-
Extent:	288 p.
Language:	eng

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