From Deleuze and Guattari to Posthumanism - (Theory in the New Humanities) by Christine Daigle & Rosi Braidotti & Terrance H McDonald (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Uncovering the theoretical and creative interconnections between posthumanism and philosophies of immanence, this volume explores the influence of the philosophy of immanence on posthuman theory; the varied reworkings of immanence for the nonhuman turn; and the new pathways for critical thinking created by the combination of these monumental discourses.

With the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari serving as a vibrant node of immanence, this volume maps a multiplicity of pathways from Deleuze, Guattari and their theoretical allies - including Spinoza and Nietzsche - to posthuman thought. As positions that insist, respectively, on the equal yet distinct powers of mind and body (immanence) and the urgent need to dismantle human privilege and exceptionality (posthumanism), each chapter reveals concepts for rethinking established notions of being, thought, experience, and life.

The authors here take examples from a range of different media, including literature and contemporary cinema, featuring films such as Enthiran/The Robot (India, 2010) and CHAPPiE (USA/Mexico, 2015), and new developments in technology and theory. In doing so, they investigate Deleuzian and Guattarian posthumanism from a variety of political and ethical frameworks and perspectives, from afro-pessimism to feminist thought, disability studies, biopolitics, and social justice.

Countering the dualisms of Cartesian philosophy and flattening the hierarchies imposed by Humanism, From Deleuze and Guattari to Posthumanism launches vital interrogations of established knowledge and sparks the critical reflection necessary for life in the posthuman era.

Review Quotes

"[T]he collection offers an important first step in a discourse ripe for theoretical inquiry, namely Deleuze, Guattari and Posthumanism. These theorists should be applauded for their sustained critique of Humanism and Anthropocentrism." --Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge

"A beautiful, ethically nuanced and radically divergent collection of invigorating contributions to the Deleuzio-Guattarian posthuman arena. This volume makes key concepts and applications relevant, sometimes devastatingly so, to the times in which we live, and in ethically living with these times." --Patricia MacCormack, Professor of Continental Philosophy, ARU, Cambridge, UK

"Emerging from generative precursors of Deleuzian immanence and interconnectivity, this superb collection offers multivalent musings on the theme of posthumanism. Mapping intersecting pathways across philosophy, aesthetics and politics, the essays subvert humanist thinking to reimagine life as an affective force for creative experimentation, diversification and joy." --Simone Bignall, Research Professor, Jumbunna Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Australia.

About the Author

Christine Daigle is Professor of Philosophy at Brock University, Canada, where she is also Director of the Posthumanism Research Institute.

Terrance H. McDonald is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Posthumanism Research Network, Brock University, Canada. He is also the editor of Interconnections: Journal of Posthumanism.