Gilles Deleuze’s readings of Schelling and Alfred North Whitehead reflect his broader interest in metaphysics, becoming, and the processual nature of reality. Deleuze incorporated ideas from both philosophers into his own philosophy, particularly in relation to creativity, nature, and the dynamics of reality. Here's a look at how Deleuze engaged with both Schelling and Whitehead:
### 1. **Deleuze on Schelling**
Deleuze had a complex and nuanced reading of Schelling, especially in relation to ideas of nature, the unconscious, and the will. Several key aspects of Schelling’s philosophy resonate with Deleuze’s own work:
- **The Unconscious and Nature**: Deleuze was drawn to Schelling's view of nature as inherently creative and self-organizing, with the unconscious playing a crucial role in this process. Schelling’s idea that the unconscious forces of nature are the ground of consciousness anticipated themes in Deleuze’s exploration of the virtual, the intensive, and processes of becoming. For Deleuze, this helps develop a conception of a world that is always in motion, where both the natural and the mental are entangled in becoming.
- **Dynamic Forces**: Schelling’s notion of dynamic, conflicting forces (such as attraction and repulsion) aligns with Deleuze's concept of difference and multiplicity. Deleuze saw Schelling as emphasizing the productivity of tension and opposition, which for Deleuze becomes part of the ongoing process of differentiation that structures reality.
- **Freedom and the Will**: Deleuze found Schelling’s idea of freedom within nature compelling, particularly how the will manifests through natural processes. This resonates with Deleuze’s philosophy of life as driven by desire, force, and creativity—essentially, life as will and becoming.
### 2. **Deleuze on Whitehead**
Deleuze's reading of Whitehead is equally significant, as Whitehead’s *process philosophy* deeply influenced Deleuze’s concepts of becoming, immanence, and event. Deleuze especially focused on Whitehead’s rejection of substance-based metaphysics in favor of a processual and relational understanding of reality.
- **Process and Becoming**: Whitehead’s *process philosophy*, which posits that reality is not made of static objects but of events and processes, directly influenced Deleuze’s own metaphysics. Deleuze embraced Whitehead’s notion that entities are defined not by their essence but by their relations and ongoing processes of becoming. Deleuze’s concept of the “event” is deeply indebted to Whitehead’s ideas of actual occasions and the flow of process as primary to reality.
- **Prehension and Relationality**: Whitehead’s concept of *prehension*—the idea that entities grasp or "prehend" other entities in a relational network of processes—was crucial for Deleuze’s understanding of how different elements of reality interact and influence each other. This relational view aligns with Deleuze’s rejection of isolated, discrete entities in favor of interconnected systems of difference and multiplicity.
- **Creativity and Novelty**: Both Deleuze and Whitehead placed a central emphasis on creativity. Whitehead’s concept of creativity as the driving force of the cosmos deeply resonated with Deleuze’s philosophy of immanence and life. Deleuze saw creativity as essential to understanding the production of the new, the unpredictable, and the emergence of novel forms—ideas he developed through his concept of the virtual and his philosophy of difference and repetition.
### 3. **Schelling, Whitehead, and Deleuze’s Cosmology of Becoming**
In both Schelling and Whitehead, Deleuze found philosophical resources to think through a non-static, dynamic, and process-oriented vision of reality. Schelling’s focus on the unconscious and forces within nature as constantly producing new forms resonates with Whitehead’s cosmology of events and processes that continually generate novelty. Both philosophers contributed to Deleuze’s understanding of becoming as a fundamental aspect of the world, in which being is never fixed but always in a state of transformation.
### Key Themes in Deleuze’s Synthesis of Schelling and Whitehead:
- **Nature as Productive**: Like Schelling’s natural philosophy and Whitehead’s process philosophy, Deleuze viewed nature as inherently creative, with generative forces constantly producing new configurations.
- **Immanence**: Both Schelling’s and Whitehead’s metaphysical views offered Deleuze a framework for understanding immanence—where the divine, the material, and the mental are not separate layers but different expressions of a single, interconnected process.
- **Multiplicity and Difference**: Deleuze’s concept of multiplicity is rooted in the relational, dynamic processes found in both Schelling’s polarities and Whitehead’s actual occasions. Difference, not identity, becomes the engine of change and creativity.
In summary, Deleuze read Schelling and Whitehead as philosophers of becoming, nature, and process, and integrated their ideas into his own work to develop a philosophy that emphasizes creativity, immanence, and the ongoing production of difference and novelty in the world. Their metaphysics provided Deleuze with tools to articulate a non-static, relational understanding of reality that is always in motion.
