Deleuze rarely, if ever, directly mentions Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling in his major works. However, the lack of explicit reference does not necessarily mean that Deleuze was unaware of or uninfluenced by Schelling. There are notable resonances between their philosophies, particularly in their shared interest in nature, becoming, creativity, and metaphysics, but Deleuze’s explicit engagements with German Idealism focused more on figures like Kant, Hegel, and Fichte.
The absence of direct engagement may stem from several factors:
1. **Focus on Other Figures**: Deleuze was more interested in critiquing Hegelian dialectics and Kantian transcendental philosophy, seeing them as major points of opposition to his own philosophy of difference and immanence. Schelling, despite being an important figure in German Idealism, was often overshadowed by Hegel in philosophical discussions, particularly during the 20th century when Hegel was seen as the dominant post-Kantian thinker.
2. **Philosophical Trajectories**: While Schelling and Deleuze both embrace the notion of becoming and reject static or fixed systems of thought, their metaphysical and ontological commitments diverge. Schelling’s commitment to a metaphysical "ground" and his later focus on the transcendent aspects of being would not align with Deleuze's philosophy of radical immanence, where there is no transcendent "ground" outside the flux of becoming.
3. **French Intellectual Context**: In the French philosophical context, where Deleuze was most active, Schelling was not as widely discussed or influential as other German Idealists like Hegel or Kant. This might explain why Deleuze, focused on his intellectual battles against Hegelian dialectics and Kantian transcendentalism, did not devote significant attention to Schelling.
4. **Indirect Influence**: Though Deleuze did not mention Schelling directly, some scholars have speculated that Schelling’s ideas might have reached him through other thinkers. For example, Deleuze was deeply engaged with Bergson, Nietzsche, and Heidegger—all of whom, in different ways, had engagements with Schelling’s ideas, particularly around nature, freedom, and the dynamic forces of reality. Thus, there may be indirect connections between Schelling’s philosophy and Deleuze’s thought.
In summary, Deleuze never explicitly engaged with Schelling, and he does not mention him in any of his key works. However, their shared philosophical concerns around becoming, nature, and creativity suggest that Schelling’s ideas could have offered meaningful points of dialogue, even if Deleuze chose to focus on other figures from German Idealism.
