In their final collaborative work, Deleuze and Guattari set out to address the question, ‘what is philosophy?’ Their answer is simple enough – philosophy ‘is the art of forming, inventing and fabricating concepts’. In this book, Jeffrey Bell explores what that involves.
Crucial to Deleuze and Guattari’s understanding of this task, Bell argues, is the assumption that philosophy is integral to a life well lived. Bell shows that a concept of learning is created through the course of the text, composed of three inseparable components: philosophy, science and art. Ultimately, What is Philosophy? can be understood as a meditation on a life well lived, with this concept of learning at its core.
✤ Gives you an account of philosophy that can serve as an introduction to Deleuze and Guattari.
✤ Mirrors the chapters and themes of What is Philosophy?, making it the perfect companion to the text.
✤ Discusses each of the examples in What is Philosophy? separately, with suggestions for further reading so that you can explore them more thoroughly.
✤ Clarifies a number of key contemporary debates in philosophy, such as issues related to realism and metaphysics, through the approach laid out by Deleuze and Guattari.