Logic of Expression

Engaging with the challenging and controversial reading of Spinoza presented by Gilles Deleuze in Expressionism in Philosophy (1968), this book focuses on Deleuze's redeployment of Spinozist concepts within the context of his own philosophical project of constructing a philosophy of difference as an alternative to the Hegelian dialectical philosophy. Duffy demonstrates that a thorough understanding of Deleuze's Spinozism is necessary in order to fully engage with Deleuze's philosophy of difference. Contents: Introduction: Spinoza and the problem of expression; Spinoza from the point of view of an idealist or a materialist dialectic; The differential point of view of the infinitesimal calculus; The metaphysics of the calculus: extensive quantity; From Scotist univocity to Spinozist immanence: intensive quantity; The distinction between intensive and extensive parts; Spinoza’s theory of relations; The transformation of the characteristic relations of modal existence; The mechanics of joyful passive affections; The distinction between the duration of a finite existing mode and its eternity; The logic of expression and the construction of a philosophy of difference; Conclusion: expressionism in philosophy; Bibliography; Index.