Deleuze and Mathematics (original) (raw)

«Differential calculus…is the algebra of pure thought» (Deleuze 1994:181-2). Here, in an often-overlooked passage of Difference and Repetition, Deleuze presents the model of his philosophy of difference inexplicit terms. In this context, calculus is not a simple mathematical tool but the model for the genesis of every actual reality, including thought. This model makes it possible to explain the working of the mind on the basis of sensory experience in order to produce its determinations while also grounding knowledge on a non-phenomenal reality: ideas as differentials of thought. This article will begin by clarifying how Deleuze draws from modern analysis in order to formulate the paradigm that allows him to ground knowledge on "real conditions of thought", that is, pre-individual genetic conditions rather than a priori, subjective conditions. Each engendered domain, in which dialectical Ideas of this or that order are incarnated, possesses its own calculus.