Deleuze and Evolutionary Theory

An engagement with the post-Darwinian biology central to Deleuze and Guattari's ecological form of thought

The study of life has been hit with a series of shockwaves since Darwin. Many of the mainstays of evolution have been challenged, and the future of our understanding of biology remains open. Deleuze has long been considered a critic of evolutionary thought. But it is now possible to see in his work a strong convergence with the new directions that have begun to take shape in the study of evolution.

Deleuze and Evolutionary Theory gathers together contributions by many of the central theorists in Deleuze studies, who have led the way in breaking down the boundaries between philosophical and biological research. They focus on the significance of Deleuze and Guattari's engagements with evolutionary theory across the full range of their work, from the interpretation of Darwin in Difference and Repetition, to the symbiotic alliances of wasp and orchid in A Thousand Plateaus, and explore the anthropological, social and biopolitical significance of the convergences and divergences between philosophy and evolutionary science.

Michael James Bennett is Faculty Fellow in the Humanities at the University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Tano S. Posteraro is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Philosophy at Penn State University.