Experience and Empiricism: Hegel, Hume, and the Early Deleuze

A close reading of Gilles Deleuze's first book, Empiricism and Subjectivity, reveals how he transformed the problem of immanence into the problem of difference. This book shows how Deleuze engaged in an ongoing debate between his teachers Jean Wahl and Jean Hyppolite over experience and empiricism, restaging the famous encounter between rationalism and empiricism that yielded Kant's critical philosophy.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 282 pages
Publication date: 30 December 2022
Publisher: Northwestern University Press

Despite the widespread acclaim Gilles Deleuze has garnered across various disciplines within the humanities, scholarly attention to his early work has remained limited. To address this gap, Experience and Empiricism offers a comprehensive examination of Deleuze's inaugural book, Empiricism and Subjectivity, which is dedicated to the philosophical endeavor of David Hume. Russell Ford contends that when Empiricism and Subjectivity is approached solely as a standalone study on Hume, its significance remains obscured. However, its true importance emerges when considered within the broader context of a significant problem that has dominated and continues to inform modern European philosophy: the conceptual formulation of a purely immanent account of existence. While the significance of this debate is acknowledged in contemporary scholarship, its historical roots, including Deleuze's position within it, have been underappreciated. This book aims to rectify that oversight by demonstrating how Deleuze actively participates in an ongoing dialogue between his teachers, Jean Wahl and Jean Hyppolite, concerning experience and empiricism. This intervention reenacts the renowned encounter between rationalism and empiricism that gave rise to Kant's critical philosophy. Deleuze poses a thought-provoking question: What might have transpired had Hume, instead of Kant, been awakened from his empirical dogmatic slumber by the rationalist challenge? By delving into this inquiry, Deleuze offers a novel perspective on the development of philosophical thought, shedding light on the intricate connections between rationalism, empiricism, and the emergence of critical philosophy.

Weight: 414g
Dimension: 153 x 229 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780810145603