Deleuze and Ancient Greek Physics: The Image of Nature

by Michael James Bennett

Overview

In 1988 the philosopher Gilles Deleuze remarked that, throughout his career, he had always been 'circling around' a concept of nature. Providing critical analysis of his highly original readings of Stoicism, Aristotle, and Epicurus, this book shows that it is Deleuze's interpretations of ancient Greek physics that provide the key to understanding his conception of nature.

Using the works of Aristotle, Plato, Chrysippus, and Epicurus, Michael Bennett traces the development of Deleuze's key concepts of event, difference, and problem. Arguing that it is difficult, if not impossible, to fully understand these ideas without an appreciation of Deleuze's Hellenistic influences, Deleuze and Ancient Greek Physics situates his commentaries in the context of contemporary scholarship on ancient Greek philosophy. Delving into the original Greek and Latin texts, this book shows that Deleuze's readings are more complex and controversial than they first appear, simultaneously advancing Deleuze as a new voice in interpretations of ancient Greek philosophy.

Generating both new critical analyses of Deleuze and a new appreciation for his classical erudition, Deleuze and Ancient Greek Physics will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in ancient Greek philosophy, Deleuze's philosophical project or his unique methodology in the history of philosophy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350099074
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/24/2019
Series:	Bloomsbury Studies in Ancient Philosophy
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Michael James Bennett is Lecturer in History of Science and Technology at the University of King's College, Canada.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Sense and Truth
3. Paradoxa Stoicorum
4. Astrology and Fate
5. 'Non-Being that is in a sense'
6. Homonymy, Analogy, and Two Kinds of Difference in Aristotle
7. Aristotelian Nature
8. Atoms, Minima, and Infinitesimals
9. Post-Kantian Epicurus
10. Atomic Speed and Swerve Speed
11. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Bennett's combination … not only avoids the strictures of chronology or methodology without sacrificing the rigour or insight of either, but in so doing demonstrates the philosophical (rather than just historical) significance of notions such as matter, motion, atoms, and bodies in antiquity.” —Bryn Mawr Classical Review

“Bennett displays a command of both the Greek authors and contemporary scholarship on their work, and a thorough familiarity with the Deleuze (and Guattari) texts under discussion … [The] book is meticulously argued and will be appreciated by scholars of Hellenistic philosophy and anyone interested in a rigorous and comprehensive account of the impact Deleuze's engagement with ancient Greek philosophy-in particular Stoicism and Epicureanism-had on his philosophy.” —CHOICE

“Michael James Bennett's book is a new and important contribution … [It] is an excellent book with much to recommend it to not only Deleuze scholars, but also to scholars of ancient Greek and Hellenic philosophy.” —Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

From the Publisher