Multiplicity (philosophy)
Encyclopedia
Multiplicity is a philosophical concept
that Edmund Husserl
and Henri Bergson
developed by analogy with Riemann
's description of the mathematical concept
. It forms an important part of the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze
, particularly in his collaboration with Félix Guattari
, Capitalism and Schizophrenia
(1972–80). In his Foucault (1986), Deleuze describes Michel Foucault
's The Archaeology of Knowledge
(1969) as "the most decisive step yet taken in the theory-practice of multiplicities."
al method, Deleuze argues in his commentary, Bergsonism (1966). The theory of multiplicities, he explains, must be distinguished from traditional philosophical problems of "the One and the Multiple." By opposing "the One and the Multiple," dialectical philosophy claims "to reconstruct the real," but this claim is false, Bergson argues, since it "involves abstract concepts that are much too general."
Instead of referring to "the Multiple in general," Bergson's theory of multiplicities distinguishes between two types of multiplicity: continuous multiplicities and discrete multiplicities (a distinction that he developed from Riemann
). The features of this distinction may be tabulated as follows:
Concept
The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...
that Edmund Husserl
Edmund Husserl
Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl was a philosopher and mathematician and the founder of the 20th century philosophical school of phenomenology. He broke with the positivist orientation of the science and philosophy of his day, yet he elaborated critiques of historicism and of psychologism in logic...
and Henri Bergson
Henri Bergson
Henri-Louis Bergson was a major French philosopher, influential especially in the first half of the 20th century. Bergson convinced many thinkers that immediate experience and intuition are more significant than rationalism and science for understanding reality.He was awarded the 1927 Nobel Prize...
developed by analogy with Riemann
Bernhard Riemann
Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann was an influential German mathematician who made lasting contributions to analysis and differential geometry, some of them enabling the later development of general relativity....
's description of the mathematical concept
Multiplicity (mathematics)
In mathematics, the multiplicity of a member of a multiset is the number of times it appears in the multiset. For example, the number of times a given polynomial equation has a root at a given point....
. It forms an important part of the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze
Gilles Deleuze , was a French philosopher who, from the early 1960s until his death, wrote influentially on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes of Capitalism and Schizophrenia: Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus , both co-written with Félix...
, particularly in his collaboration with Félix Guattari
Félix Guattari
Pierre-Félix Guattari was a French militant, an institutional psychotherapist, philosopher, and semiotician; he founded both schizoanalysis and ecosophy...
, Capitalism and Schizophrenia
Capitalism and Schizophrenia
Capitalism and Schizophrenia is a two-volume theoretical work by the French authors Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. Its volumes, published eight years apart, are Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus ....
(1972–80). In his Foucault (1986), Deleuze describes Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
's The Archaeology of Knowledge
The Archaeology of Knowledge
The Archaeology of Knowledge is a book by philosopher Michel Foucault published in 1969. This volume was Foucault's main excursion into methodology, providing an anti-humanist excavation of the human sciences, particularly but not exclusively psychology and sociology...
(1969) as "the most decisive step yet taken in the theory-practice of multiplicities."
Deleuze's philosophy
The notion of multiplicity forms a central part of Bergson's critique of philosophical negativity and the dialecticDialectic
Dialectic is a method of argument for resolving disagreement that has been central to Indic and European philosophy since antiquity. The word dialectic originated in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato in the Socratic dialogues...
al method, Deleuze argues in his commentary, Bergsonism (1966). The theory of multiplicities, he explains, must be distinguished from traditional philosophical problems of "the One and the Multiple." By opposing "the One and the Multiple," dialectical philosophy claims "to reconstruct the real," but this claim is false, Bergson argues, since it "involves abstract concepts that are much too general."
Instead of referring to "the Multiple in general," Bergson's theory of multiplicities distinguishes between two types of multiplicity: continuous multiplicities and discrete multiplicities (a distinction that he developed from Riemann
Bernhard Riemann
Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann was an influential German mathematician who made lasting contributions to analysis and differential geometry, some of them enabling the later development of general relativity....
). The features of this distinction may be tabulated as follows:
| Continuous multiplicities | Discrete multiplicities | |
|---|---|---|
| differences in kind | differences in degree | |
| divides only by changing in kind | divides without changing in kind | |
| non-numerical - qualitative | numerical - quantitative | |
| differences are virtual | differences are actual | |
| continuous | discontinuous | |
| qualitative discrimination | quantitative differentiation | |
| simultaneity | succession | |
| fusion | juxtaposition | |
| organization | order | |
| subjective - subject | objective - object | |
| duration | space |
See also
- Rhizome (philosophy)Rhizome (philosophy)Rhizome is a philosophical concept developed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari in their Capitalism and Schizophrenia project...
- ContextualismContextualismContextualism describes a collection of views in philosophy which emphasize the context in which an action, utterance, or expression occurs, and argues that, in some important respect, the action, utterance, or expression can only be understood relative to that context...
- PerspectivismPerspectivismPerspectivism is the philosophical view developed by Friedrich Nietzsche that all ideations take place from particular perspectives. This means that there are many possible conceptual schemes, or perspectives in which judgment of truth or value can be made...