Yeni Bir Toplum Felsefesi

by Manuel DeLanda

Manuel DeLanda is a distinguished writer, artist and philosopher. In his new book, he offers a fascinating look at how the contemporary world is characterized by an extraordinary social complexity. Since most social entities, from small communities to large nation-states, would disappear altogether if human minds ceased to exist, Delanda proposes a novel approach to social ontology that asserts the autonomy of social entities from the conceptions we have of them.

Genres: Philosophy, Sociology, Nonfiction, Politics, Theory, Society, Social Science

Paperback

First published September 14, 2006

About the author

Manuel DeLanda (b. in Mexico City, 1952), based in New York since 1975, is a philosopher, media artist, programmer and software designer. After studying art in the 1970s, he became known as an independent filmmaker making underground 8mm and 16mm films inspired by critical theory and philosophy. In the 1980s, Manuel De Landa focused on programing, writing computer software, and computer art. After being introduced to the work of Gilles Deleuze, he saw new creative potential in philosophical texts, becoming one of the representatives of the 'new materialism'.

Reviews

[Yalda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between reading the book and watching his EGS lectures on assemblage theory, watching those lectures is definitely a better option. He is basically presenting the same material, only more straightforward.

[Kamakana · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you like this review, i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com

210625: not sociologist but easily convinced by philosopher de landa’s use of Deleuzean ideas of ‘assemblages’, this might seem dry, difficult, and perhaps could do with more division into concepts. useful corrective to both macro- and micro- economic theories, as well as prevalent ‘organicism’, showing how ontological status can build from persons to networks to villages to towns and cities to bureaucracy to nation and state. this is short, intense work that succeeds best i suggest after A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History and Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy…

Deleuze
Nietzsche and Philosophy
What Is Philosophy?
Gilles Deleuze: Key Concepts
Bergsonism
Bergson-Deleuze Encounters: Transcendental Experience and the Thought of the Virtual
Deleuze, Bergson, Merleau-Ponty: The Logic and Pragmatics of Creation, Affective Life, and Perception
Gilles Deleuze: Cinema and Philosophy
Deleuze on Cinema

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

The philosopher Gilles Deleuze once famously spoke of his work as a series of ‘little tool boxes’, devised not to be contemplated at a distance, but to be put to use, pressed into service as instruments or ‘investments for combat’. In this regard, there are few who have mastered the Deleuzian toolkit quite like Manuel DeLanda. Having previously put the Deleuzian hammer to the study of both history and systems science – with results of breathtaking ingenuity (cf. 'A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History' and Intensive Science & Virtual Philosophy) – ‘A New Philosophy of Society’ finds DeLanda’s panscopic intelligence turning upon an entirely new field by which to further extend the Deleuzian repertoire – social theory.

Extending the concerns which motivated his previous offerings, DeLanda offers his ‘new philosophy’ as a remedy to those approaches which too strongly emphasize the ‘organic’ nature of society – approaches in which social elements work together to form a seamless whole, possessing only 'relations of interiority' reducible to the parts they play in an overarching social apparatus ('Society' with a big 'S'). Against this, DeLanda advocates the necessity of considering 'relations of exteriority', in which parts posses the ability to 'detach' from their roles while nonetheless maintaining their identities, affirming their autonomy against subsumption in a whole.

As the subtitle of the work gives away however, while ostensibly concerned with questions of social ontology (‘what kinds of entities can we commit ourselves to the existence of?’), ‘A New Philosophy’ also doubles as an introduction to ‘assemblage theory’, the preferred name of DeLanda’s basic ontological approach to the world in general (an approach, I ought to add, that denies that we can in fact speak of anything ‘in general’!). Cobbled together from Deleuze and Guattari’s important but dispersed writings on ‘assemblages’, DeLanda here works to hone and sharpen the concept in ways entirely original to himself, carving out a space of singularity making him far more than just another ‘Deleuze commentator’.

As usual with DeLanda, his explicit theorizing is generously coupled with a commitment to illustration and concrete exemplification, with a great deal of the book given over to demonstrating examples of the many, many processes involved in the composition of a society. Reaching across scales of time, space and size, DeLanda works with a wealth of examples that stretch from habit acquisition in individuals, all the way to the formation of nation-states (with pit-stops in theories of organization and urban development along the way). While the material does get a bit dry on account of its density at times, the wonder exhibited by DeLanda in the face of the society's complexities and heterogeneities can't but rub off on any reader with a sensitivity to the richness of the world(s) in which we live.

[Jannis · Rating 3 out of 5]

DeLanda proposes an ontology to understand complex social entities as consisting of smaller parts. Hereby, he builds on Deleuze and Guattari's works that are unreadable if you don't have years without other things to do. So, his argumentation is strong and relatively easy to read and understand. However, it's purely theoretical and could've greatly benefitted from real life examples that are not archetypes. I guess that's my job now - to turn theory into practice. To be honest, i skipped a lot of this book because it was irrelevant to my case but still, it wouldn't get better if i read those parts.

edit: I like the concept of assemblage and it's a really interesting way of seeing the world. my review is more on the reading experience lol

[Basma Abdallah Uraiqat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting read. The five chapters are quite diverse but at the same time are unified in the general theme of assembly theory which the writer uses to for his new philosophy of society. One of the great things about it is that being based on the theories of Deleuze, which are known to be quite difficult reads, the writer simplifies many of Deleuze's concepts and makes practical use of them allowing the reader to form a better understanding of these concepts. It is necessary however to be familiar with Deleuze in order to understand this book fully.

It was only a coincidence that I read this book right after Firas Sawwah's (دين الإنسان) and although the two books are quite different in terms of content and method but I found many interesting crossing points between them that bridge between society, philosophy, history, religion, and science.

I recommend this book for those who would like to get a deep insight into what contemporary society is and what potentials can be found among its contradictions and fluctuations.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was perhaps not the right place to begin my introduction to the arguments of DeLanda, one of Deleuze's most important contemporary interpreters. Though I found the first two chapters occasionally interesting and compelling, the remainder of the book is given to a somewhat hurried, boilerplate sociology of different kinds of formations (persons, networks, organizations, states, etc.). The treatment of these various assemblages is not done with sufficient depth or incisiveness to see how assemblage theory constitutes a 'new philosophy of society', which seems a poor choice of a title (perhaps suggested by a publisher to make the book seem more compelling?). A number of well-known sociologists - such as Anthony Giddens - appear in this book, and DeLanda sometimes rehashes or repeats or offers minor modifications and critiques of their findings and approaches, but to no particular effect.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vital and exploratory for social scientists of all stripes.

[Avşar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very complex but rewarding book, just like A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History. DeLanda's account of the Assemblage Theory, where he facilitates ideas of flat ontology and multiscale social realities, is mind-opening or mind-expanding if you already have an open mind. I would very much like to combine this with Latour, Harman, Garcia, Morton and Simondon to compose an Object-Oriented Ontology for Design.

[Lukáš · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd say deLanda is at his best when following Deleuze closely. This book is both there and quite away from it at times. What I really like about the author is the honesty with which he deliberately brackets out many parts of the more detailed Deleuzoguattarean philosophy in order to focus on rather general patterns. In this sense, the book works as an excellent broad synthesis of almost everything (history, sociology, political economy, biology, philosophy). On the other, at times the slip towards generality, even though meant as a broad sweep, tends to overplay a number of conceptual differences that are silenced by an almost explicitly un-political focus. The problem with this turns into something akin to the Deleuze - Badiou disagreements, with Badiou objecting to Deleuze (wrongly) an elitism and indifference to politics, while at the same time, being on many accounts amenable to that very same criticism (take away the few obligatory leftist phrases...). What I am suggesting, is that I find deLanda's ontology to be rather Badiousian than Deleuzian, if we put aside the unstated political bias. The questions I find unanswered, therefore, are, how much can Deleuze's account of politics challenge this conformity and how can the overlooked elements turn this on its head.

[Yahya · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books on social ontology I've read. Provides a great ontological foundation to start integrating sociological knowledge.

As for the negatives,

Even though the book was easy to understand (compared to other philosophy books), the writing could have been a lot better. The chapters could have been divided into sub-sections easily and that would have improved comprehensibility tenfold.

Also, I don't fully agree with the philosophy of Manual DeLanda. There are many things that I agree with. But, there are significant differences as well.

If you are remotely interested in understanding society, then reading this is a must. This was a philosophical starting point I was looking for for a long time.

[Bahadır]

The non-reductionism book offers seems extremely crucial to me. DeLanda does great job on showing that neither macro-reductionism nor micro-reductionism is appropriate. Though there were two disappointments for me on that book. First one is, philosophical content was much less than I expected. After the first two chapters, DeLanda starts the analyses of various assemblages which are based on the ontology he offered for sure, but philosophical discussion almost completely gives way to sociological-historical investigation. The second one, his remarks on specific assemblages, the points he chose to consider feels arbitrary points that merely serve to the purpose of giving examples to the assemblage theory. Which shouldn't be a big problem actually, considering the book is not intended to give complete analysis of all the social entities. But still, it makes you question the importance of the examples you read.

PS: The third dimension he mentions about assemblages, the 'diagram' or 'universal singularities' of the assemblage, entirely disappears in the concrete analyses of following chapters. He does not mention it again. I think it is still relevant at some points he talks about, but the relevance is never shown.

[Regn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I usually very much like DeLanda’s work (‘Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy’ is amazing), this book is just a bit tiring. It feels essentially like a long string of examples that doesn’t really go anywhere and Guattari’s absence is very clear. It feels bizarre producing an assemblage theory whilst ignoring the person who actually introduced and developed the concept. The writing-off of strata is also very problematic in my eyes — something Ian Buchanan’s ‘Assemblage Theory and Method’ is much better at analysing. However, I do have to say I liked DeLanda’s exploration of expressivity — although it could have maybe used some more Hjelmslev/semiotics/glossematics — and his discussion of essences, which complements ISVP quite nicely.

[John Cumming · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much easier read than Assemblage Theory but that might be due to increasing familiarity. I think bits are starting to sink in and I’m sure reading my notes will further cohere my understanding. As a concept to help make sense of organizational behaviour I think assemblage theory is important. I’m looking to create some approaches to organizational change based on some of this theory and the social ontology presented where “every social entity is shown to emerge from the interaction among [independent] entities operating at a smaller scale” along with material and expressive elements combining with territorialisation at multiple levels is going to provide a rich seam of understanding.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A vital work in the rise of the new materialisms and something I should have read a long time ago. Probably helpful if you get to this before some of the newer stuff from the speculative realists and others.

[efenibot · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Noah]

read the first 2 chapters, learned everything but didn't really learn anything

[Maria Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read about organisations, power, interaction, society.

[Hayden Stinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Delanda's Intensive Science & Virtual Philosophy and his European Graduate Lectures on YouTube. I like what this book attempts to do, but I think it demonstrates the hard limits on applying small sections of Deleuze's work super literally to external fields.

The first two chapters are good, especially the critiques of Hegel and relations of exteriority. These themes connect to Deleuze's own in Bergsonism, which I was also reading at the time. However, the last three chapters showed that the book's application of concepts like territorialization and coding was overly literal. These are intense concepts, and applying them too literally to the realm of extensive places and physical people makes them lose their original Deleuzian purpose, which was to be a metaphor to describe virtual and intensive phenomena. I knows that Delanda knows this, but this particular project of his seems to have gone astray and fallen a bit short.

I'm glad that I read this book, as Deleuze and sociology (sociolinguistics) are two of my few main interests. However, the apparent shortcomings of the project presented in this book suggests to me that reconciling Deleuze and social theory (which more often than not are at odds) properly would require a more laborious process than simply fusing them together.

[Danyell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant effort, The first 45 pages, in which De Landa describes his adaptation of Deleuze's assemblage theory to social analysis, demand a lot of work (hint: don't read that part while on public transportation or in noisy places). Also it seems too short by half, as if some external pressure forced the book into printing early. The promised example analysis of the USA never shows up. If that was meant to be left as an exercise to the reader, it's a whopper of a homework assignment. Still, more than enough here for others to build upon. While De Landa might leave one wanting, he doesn't let us down.

[Matt Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think my problem with Delanda is, though I find the framework incredibly useful, he plays fast and loose with evidence--which to be honest is not really required. You could colour every page of this book green or red depending on whether his analysis is solid, or whether he's speculating/simplifying/making stuff up while continuing to use strong, confident language.

[mahatmanto · Rating 3 out of 5]

manuel delanda adalah 'penerjemah' gagasan filosofis deleuze ke ranah arsitektur. itu sebabnya niat banget aku baca buku kecil ini, setelah buku pertamanya "a thousand years of nonlinear history" [halah... judulnya aja deleuzian banget, mirip: "thousand plateaus"nya deleuze+guatarri]

[Jeremy Griffith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is as refreshingly piercing and clear as the rest of DeLanda's work, but I think that his EGS lectures, available on youtube, are a better delivery of the same material.

[Cameron Kunzelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

DeLanda does a great job of making assemblage theory very clear and showing how it can be applied to various structures at various sizes.

[Richard Smyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delanda describes an important new way of thinking based on the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and the scientific theory of emergence.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book about assemblages and their application to analysis in the social sciences.

[Nick Black]

Amazon 2008-11-05.