Time and History in Deleuze and Serres (Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy, 53)

For Gilles Deleuze, time is ‘out of joint'. For Michel Serres, it is ‘a crumpled handkerchief'. In both of these concepts, explicit references are made to the non-linear dynamics of Chaos and Complexity theory, as well as the New Sciences. The groundbreaking work of these key thinkers has the potential to instigate a radical break from traditional existentialist theories of time and history, affording us the opportunity to view history and historical events as a complex, non-linear system of feedback-loops, couplings and interfaces. In this collection, the first to address the comparative historiographies of Deleuze and Serres, twelve leading experts - including William Connolly, Eugene Holland, Claire Colebrook and Elizabeth Grosz - examine these alternative concepts of time and history, exposing critical arguments in this important and emerging field of research. Time and History in Deleuze and Serres 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 10 List of Contributors 12 Introduction 16 Notes 29 Bibliography 30 1 Eugene Holland: Non-Linear Historical Materialism; Or, What is Revolutionary in Deleuze & Guattari’s Philosophy of History? 32 Emergence 33 Time and History 36 Revolution 43 Bibliography 45 2 Kevin Clayton: Time Folded and Crumpled: Time, History, Self-Organization and the Methodology of Michel Serres 46 Introduction 46 Noise and the In-itself of Time 49 The Emergence and Synthesis of Time 52 History and Codification 56 Self-Organization and Methodology 58 Notes 63 Bibliography 63 3 David Webb: Michel Serres: From the History of Mathematics to Critical History 66 Notes 82 Bibliography 83 4 Paul Patton: Deleuze, Foucault and History 84 History and Actuality 85 Philosophy versus Genealogy 89 Becoming Control Society 92 Notes 96 Bibliography 97 5 Maria Assad: Ulyssean Trajectories: A (New) Look at Michel Serres’ Topology of Time 100 Notes 116 Bibliography 116 6 Claire Colebrook: Post-Human Humanities 118 Notes 138 Bibliography 139 7 Nathan Widder: Deleuze on Bergsonian Duration and Nietzsche’s Eternal Return 142 Bergson on Quantity and Quality 144 Difference in Quantity and Will to Power 151 From Duration to Eternal Return 154 The Event and History 158 Notes 159 Bibliography 160 8 Elizabeth Grosz: Time Out of Joint 162 Bibliography 166 9 Jane Bennett and William Connolly: The Crumpled Handkerchief 168 Noise 170 Phases 171 The Handkerchief and the Powers of the False 173 The Practice of History 179 Notes 182 Bibliography 186 10 Bernd Herzogenrath: A Physical Theory of Heredity or Heresy: The Education of Henry Adams 188 Notes 213 Bibliography 215 11 Hanjo Berressem: Crystal History: ‘You Pick Up the Pieces. You Connect the Dots 218 Transcendental Empiricism 218 The Multiverse 219 Gilles Deleuze 222 Michel Serres 223 Evolution 225 Crystal History 226 Multiplicities 227 Implications 230 Minor Science, Minor History 232 Every History is a History of the Living 236 Is History Like Physics? 239 Notes 240 Bibliography 242 Author Index 244 Subject Index 245 This collection of eleven essays explores the ontology of time and revolutionary historiography that French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Michel Serres developed. Deleuze and Serres challenged tendencies by philosophers, historians, and scientists to conceive of time and history as linear succession of instants. These essays illuminate the significance of such challenges in terms of politics, philosophy, science, and art. Topics include the revolutionary potential of Deleuze and his sometime co-writer Felix Guattari's non-linear historical materialism, how Serres uses the history of math to explain how local meanings emerge while also accounting for recurrence of similar models, how the shift from Bergson to Nietzsche allows Deleuze to "develop an ontology of time that accounts for the contingency and randomness of history without reducing it to mere randomness or accident," the difference between Deleuze and Foucault's approach to history and analysis of "the society of control," Serres conception of time as a "wrinkled handkerchief," and the influence of Deleuze and Serres on Henry Adams' political and scientific historical writing. The contributors are professors of political theory, literary studies, philosophy, and women's studies. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) This title presents the first critical appraisal of Deleuze and Serre's 'joint' conception of time and history. For Gilles Deleuze, time is 'out of joint'. For Michel Serres, it is 'a crumpled handkerchief'. In both of these concepts, explicit references are made to the non-linear dynamics of Chaos and Complexity theory, as well as the New Sciences. This groundbreaking work of these key thinkers has the potential to instigate a radical break from traditional existentialist theories of time and history, affording us the opportunity to view history and historical events as a complex, non-linear system of feedback-loops, couplings and interfaces. In this collection, the first to address the comparative historiographies of Deleuze and Serres, twelve leading experts - including William Connolly, Eugene Holland, Claire Colebrook and Elizabeth Grosz - examine these alternative concepts of time and history, exposing critical arguments in this important and emerging field of research. "Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy" presents cutting-edge scholarship in the field of modern European thought. The wholly original arguments, perspectives and research findings in titles in this series make it an important and stimulating resource for students and academics from across the discipline In this collection, 12 leading experts examine alternative concepts of time and history, exposing critical arguments in the work of Deleuze and Serres. For Gilles Deleuze, time is 'out of joint'. For Michel Serres, it is 'a crumpled handkerchief'. In both of these concepts, explicit references are made to the non-linear dynamics of Chaos and Complexity theory, as well as the New Sciences. The groundbreaking work of these key thinkers has the potential to instigate a radical break from traditional existentialist theories of time and history, affording us the opportunity to view history and historical events as a complex, non-linear system of feedback-loops, couplings and interfaces.In this collection, the first to address the comparative historiographies of Deleuze and Serres, twelve leading experts - including William Connolly, Eugene Holland, Claire Colebrook and Elizabeth Grosz - examine these alternative concepts of time and history, exposing critical arguments in this important and emerging field of research Introduction 1. Non-Linear Historical Materialism; Or,What is Revolutionary in Deleuze and Guattari's Philosophy of History?, Eugene W. Holland 2. Time Folded and Crumpled: Time, History, Self-Organization and the Methodology of Michel Serres, Kevin Clayton 3. Michel Serres: From the History of Mathematics to Critical History, David Webb 4. Deleuze, Foucault and History, Paul Patton 5. Ulyssean Trajectories: A (New) Look at Michel Serres's Topology of Time, Maria Assad 6. Posthuman Humanities, Claire Colebrook 7. Deleuze on Bergsonian Duration and Nietzsche's "Eternal Return", Nathan Widder 8. Time Out of Joint, Elizabeth Grosz \ 9. The Crumpled Handkerchief, William Connolly and Jane Bennett 10. A Physical Theory of Heredity/Heresy: The Education of Henry Adams, Bernd Herzogenrath 11. Crystal History: 'You Pick Up the Pieces. You Connect the Dots', Hanjo Berressem Bibliography Index For Gilles Deleuze, time is 'out of joint'. For Michel Serres, it is 'a crumpled handkerchief'. In both of these concepts, explicit references are made to the non-linear dynamics of Chaos and Complexity theory, as well as the New Sciences. This title presents the critical appraisal of Deleuze and Serre's 'joint' conception of time and history.