Gilles Deleuze
French philosopher known for Difference and Repetition and collaborations with Félix Guattari.
Gilles Deleuze (18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher whose work, spanning from the early 1950s until his death, covered ontology, social critique, film theory, and fine art. He is best known for *Capitalism and Schizophrenia*, a two-volume project co-authored with Félix Guattari: *Anti-Oedipus* (1972) and *A Thousand Plateaus* (1980). His 1968 work *Difference and Repetition*, a metaphysical study, is widely regarded as his masterpiece.
Much of Deleuze’s writing reinterprets major figures in the history of philosophy, including the Stoics, Leibniz, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Spinoza, and Bergson. Philosopher A. W. Moore, applying Bernard Williams’ criteria for greatness, counts Deleuze among the “greatest philosophers.” Though Deleuze once called himself a “pure metaphysician,” his ideas have influenced art, literary theory, musicology, and sociology, and he is often linked to post-structuralism and postmodernism.
Deleuze was born in Paris to a middle-class family—his mother Odette Camaüer and father Louis, an engineer—and lived in the city most of his life. He attended the Lycée Carnot during World War II and spent a year in khâgne at the Lycée Henri IV. During the Nazi occupation, his older brother Georges, three years his senior, was arrested for Resistance activity and died en route to a concentration camp. In 1944, Deleuze began studying at the Sorbonne, where teachers like Georges Canguilhem, Jean Hyppolite, Ferdinand Alquié, and Maurice de Gandillac sparked his lasting interest in canonical philosophers.
After passing the agrégation in philosophy in 1948, Deleuze taught at lycées in Amiens, Orléans, and Louis le Grand until 1957, when he joined the University of Paris. His first book, *Empiricism and Subjectivity* (1953), on David Hume, grew from his 1947 DES thesis supervised by Hyppolite and Canguilhem. From 1960 to 1964, he was a research fellow at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, publishing *Nietzsche and Philosophy* (1962) and befriending Michel Foucault. He taught at the University of Lyon from 1964 to 1969. In 1968, amid the May 68 protests, he defended two DrE dissertations—later published as *Difference and Repetition* (supervised by Gandillac) and *Expressionism in Philosophy: Spinoza* (supervised by Alquié). In 1969, he joined the experimental University of Paris VIII, at Foucault’s suggestion, where he also met psychoanalyst Félix Guattari. Deleuze taught there until retiring in 1987.
Deleuze had respiratory issues from a young age. In 1968, he developed tuberculosis and had a lung removed; he was a heavy smoker. His breathing worsened over time, making even writing a struggle. Overwhelmed, he died by suicide on 4 November 1995, jumping from his apartment window. Before his death, he planned a book called *La Grandeur de Marx* and left two unfinished chapters (published as “Immanence: A Life” and “The Actual and the Virtual”). He is buried in Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat.
His work splits into two categories: monographs on philosophers (Spinoza, Leibniz, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Bergson, Foucault) and artists (Proust, Kafka, Francis Bacon), and concept-driven books on topics like difference, sense, event, economy, cinema, desire, and philosophy. Critics note these categories often overlap, thanks to his prose and the layered structure of his books.
Metaphysically, Deleuze’s pre-Guattari project inverts the traditional priority of identity over difference. Typically, difference depends on identity—saying “X is different from Y” assumes stable X and Y. Deleuze argues that all identities are effects of difference: no two things are the same, and the categories we use to identify individuals arise from differences. An identity like “X” is a series of differences—X is the difference between x and y, y is the difference between... and so on. Difference, he insists, goes all the way down. To grasp reality honestly, beings must be understood as they are, without imposing forms, categories, or resemblances.
- born
- 18 January 1925
- died
- 4 November 1995
- field
- Philosophy
- nationality
- French
- known_for
- Capitalism and Schizophrenia (with Félix Guattari), Difference and Repetition
Lore & Background
Gilles Deleuze was born into a middle-class family in Paris and lived there for most of his life. His mother was Odette Camaüer and his father, Louis, was an engineer. His initial schooling was undertaken during World War II, during which time he attended the Lycée Carnot. He also spent a year in khâgne at the Lycée Henri IV. During the Nazi occupation of France, Deleuze's brother, three years his senior, Georges, was arrested for his participation in the French Resistance, and died while in transit to a concentration camp. In 1944, Deleuze went to study at the Sorbonne. His teachers there included several noted specialists in the history of philosophy, such as Georges Canguilhem, Jean Hyppolite, Ferdinand Alquié, and Maurice de Gandillac. Deleuze passed the agrégation in philosophy in 1948, and taught at various lycées (Amiens, Orléans, Louis le Grand) until 1957, when he took up a position at the University of Paris. In 1953, he published his first monograph, Empiricism and Subjectivity, on David Hume. From 1960 to 1964, he held a research fellow position at the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique. During this time he published Nietzsche and Philosophy (1962) and befriended Michel Foucault. From 1964 to 1969, he was a professor at the University of Lyon. In 1968, Deleuze defended his two DrE dissertations amid the ongoing May 68 demonstrations; he later published his two dissertations under the titles Difference and Repetition (supervised by Gandillac) and Expressionism in Philosophy: Spinoza (supervised by Alquié). In 1969, he was appointed to the University of Paris VIII, an experimental school organized to implement educational reform. Deleuze taught at Paris VIII until his retirement in 1987. Deleuze, who had suffered from respiratory ailments from a young age, developed tuberculosis in 1968 and underwent lung removal. He suffered increasingly severe respiratory symptoms for the rest of his life. Overwhelmed by his respiratory problems, he died by suicide on 4 November 1995, throwing himself from the window of his apartment. He is buried in the cemetery of the village of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat.
Reader's Guide
Deleuze's works fall into two groups: on the one hand, monographs interpreting the work of other philosophers (Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, David Hume, Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Nietzsche, Henri Bergson, Michel Foucault) and artists (Marcel Proust, Franz Kafka, Francis Bacon); on the other, eclectic philosophical tomes organized by concept (e.g., difference, sense, event, economy, cinema, desire, philosophy). A significant part of Deleuze's oeuvre is devoted to the radical reinterpretation of important figures in the history of philosophers including the Stoics, Leibniz, Hume, Kant, Nietzsche, Spinoza, and Bergson. A. W. Moore, citing Bernard Williams's criteria for a great thinker, ranks Deleuze among the 'greatest philosophers'. Although he once characterized himself as a 'pure metaphysician', his concepts have influenced many fields and been applied across art, literary theory, musicology and sociology amongst others and is frequently associated with post-structuralism and postmodernism.
Did You Know?
- Deleuze's brother Georges died while in transit to a concentration camp during the Nazi occupation.
- Deleuze defended his two DrE dissertations amid the ongoing May 68 demonstrations.
- Before his death, Deleuze had announced his intention to write a book entitled La Grandeur de Marx (The Greatness of Marx).
- He is buried in the cemetery of the village of Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Gilles Deleuze (18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher." — Gilles Deleuze "A leftist government doesn't exist because being on the left has nothing to do with governments." — Gilles Deleuze "from L'Abécédaire de Gilles Deleuze: G comme Gauche (“Gilles Deleuze's Alphabet Book: Left-wing Politics”), 1988–1989." — Gilles Deleuze "There's no need to fear or hope, but only to look for new weapons." — Gilles Deleuze
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