Terence Blake on Deleuze’s Philosophies of Difference and Multiplicity

by Corry Shores
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This is a post by Terence Blake regarding Deleuze’s philosophies of difference and multiplicity. I had previously thought difference to be a more fundamental concept, but now I am no longer so sure.

DELEUZE: philosopher of difference or philosopher of multiplicity

“I argue that Deleuze’s philosophical evolution involves a passage from a problematic of difference to one of multiplicity. There is nothing explicit to mark this passage, but … there is an “epistemological break”, a rupture in Deleuze’s preferred conceptual vocabulary. After his encounter with Guattari, Deleuze ceases talking in terms of difference, and sticks to multiplicity.

Given this change, which I find to be a progress, I see no reason to confine Deleuze to the category “philosopher of difference”. Deleuze always presented himself as a pluralist and a philosopher of multiplicities, long before DIFFERENCE AND REPETITION. So I think it is a mistake to give too much prominence to the concept of difference.”
(Blake)

From Terence Blake, ‘DELEUZE: philosopher of difference or philosopher of multiplicity’

https://terenceblake.wordpress.com/2015/06/07/deleuze-philosopher-of-difference-or-philosopher-of-multiplicity/