Giles Deleuze, a significant figure in French postmodernism, discusses Nietzsche's philosophy and his critique of dialectics. Topics include Deleuze's interpretation of sense, value & genealogy, active and reactive forces, Nietzsche's typology, the eternal recurrence, and the triumph of reactive forces.
Nietzsche's philosophy challenges the traditional association of philosophy with the dialectic and proposes a new understanding of existence based on difference and perspectival thinking.
Nietzsche's approach to philosophy is genealogical, focusing on the value of origins and the origin of values, and challenging the dominance of reactive forces in understanding existence.
Nietzsche's perspective opposes the reactive bias in consciousness, science, and truth-seeking, emphasizing the importance of understanding the multi-faceted nature of existence and questioning the possibility of becoming beyond reactivity.
Deep dives
The Nietzschean Perspective on Life and Philosophy
Nietzsche's philosophy challenges the traditional association of philosophy with the dialectic and proposes a new understanding of existence. He sees philosophy as a long intergenerational dialogue between minds and interprets it as a series of opposing conceptions. For Nietzsche, the goal of history is mutual recognition, where individuals seek recognition from others. This stands in contrast to the master-slave dialectic, where one dominates and the other is dominated, leading to mutual dissatisfaction. Hegel's influence on Western philosophy is significant, but French philosopher Gilles Deleuze presents an anti-Hegelian perspective, emphasizing Nietzsche's critique of Hegel. Deleuze argues that Nietzsche's philosophy is anti-dialectical and based on difference. He explores Nietzsche's metaphysics of difference and the importance of genealogical thought. Nietzsche's view of the world as innocent and just, characterized by an instinct of play and becoming, challenges the Christian notion of existence as blameworthy. Delving into Nietzsche's typology, Deleuze notes the importance of asking "which one" and understanding the multi-faceted nature of Nietzsche's philosophy.
The Tragic Orientation of Nietzsche's Philosophy
Nietzsche's philosophy addresses the tragic aspect of life and challenges the Christian view that existence is blameworthy. The birth of tragedy and the dichotomy between Apollo and Dionysus reflect Nietzsche's exploration of art forces and the justification of life. Nietzsche's concept of the tragic emphasizes the affirmation of life, where becoming is celebrated and existence is seen as innocent. Deluze explains the significance of the dice throw metaphor, where the winning number represents the repetition of the throw and the affirmation of chance. Nietzsche's perspective opposes Pascal's wager, which fragments chance into probabilities and chances of gain or loss. Deluze distinguishes between the active and reactive forces, highlighting the dominance of reactive forces in consciousness and science. Nietzsche's typology encompasses multiple factors, including the biological, psychological, historical, social, and political, emphasizing the value of origins and the origin of values.
Nietzsche's Genealogical Inquiry and the Dominance of Reactive Forces
Nietzsche's approach to philosophy is genealogical, focusing on the value of origins and the origin of values. The dichotomy between active and reactive forces shapes his perspective. Reactive forces exist in an inferior relationship to dominant, active forces and are acted by fulfilling functions of conservation, adaptation, and utility. Science tends to understand organisms through the lens of reactive forces, neglecting the dominant and active aspects. The stimulus and response theory exemplifies this reactive perspective by making organisms passive responders. Nietzsche's philosophy challenges this reactive bias and emphasizes the importance of understanding the multi-faceted nature of existence beyond reactive forces.
Reactivity and Active Forces in Nietzsche's Philosophy
Nietzsche explores the concept of consciousness as a history of past reactions, emphasizing its value in redirecting efforts towards successful outcomes. Deluze argues that consciousness is a reactive reflection of the body, always identifying with reactive forces. He critiques the concept of truth as inherently reactive and denies the existence of an abstract truth. Science, driven by reactive forces, seeks balance and equalization, reminiscent of the nihilistic ideal. Deluze presents Nietzsche's perspective that the perspective of reactive forces dominates religions, sciences, aesthetics, and moral views in human history. He concludes by questioning the possibility of an alternative sensibility and becoming beyond the reactive nature of humanity.
Reactive Triumphs and the Victory of Reactive Forces
Deluze explains the victory of reactive forces by separating active forces from what they can do, perpetuating the reactive perspective of separating a force from its activity. This separation characterizes man as a reactive animal, dominating history, religions, arts, sciences, and morality. Deluze emphasizes that the reactive forces do not comprise a greater force than the active, and the domination of reactive forces is not based on force. Reactive forces create fictions and reify objects into static beings. The triumph of reactive forces results in the denial of difference, leading to nihilism. Deluze raises the question of whether there is a possible becoming active beyond the reactive nature of existence.
Giles Deleuze is one of the most significant figures of French postmodernism, famous for his work with psychoanalyst Felix Guattari. In this episode, we're going to consider Deleuze's work, Nietzsche and Philosophy. In the words of Deleuze, the opposition to Hegel runs through the entirety of Nietzsche's work as its cutting edge. Nietzsche's philosophy is truly 'against the dialectic': as Nietzsche's work is perspectival and pluralistic, which represents the only significant challenge to the dialectical mode of thought. In contrast to dialectical labor and seriousness, Nietzsche's way of thinking affirms difference. Nietzsche asserts that being is not premised on negation, but affirmation, in which each force asserts its difference and enjoys that difference. In Deleuze, we find a new systemization of Nietzsche, in which Nietzsche's critique of morality, religion and the sciences can be reconceptualized as part of a struggle on Nietzsche's part against the triumph of reactive forces. Deleuze offers us a new language for discussing and understanding Nietzsche's work, and a radical re-evaluation of the eternal recurrence and the will to power. In this first part of our two-part series on Deleuze, we're going to consider Nietzsche's anti-Hegelianism, Deleuze's interpretation of sense, value & genealogy, the concepts of active and reactive, Nietzsche's typology, the metaphor the dicethrow, and the eternal return considered as a Nietzschean theory of time.
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