Excellent question. Rosi Braidotti’s thought is deeply influenced by Gilles Deleuze, but not in a derivative or mimetic way—rather, she transposes his philosophy into new terrains: feminist theory, ethics, posthumanism, and political ecology. As for Félix Guattari, his influence is more subtle, yet unmistakable in certain aspects—particularly her emphasis on subjectivity as assemblage, ecology, and affirmative politics.
Let’s explore both influences in turn.
1. Influence of Deleuze on Braidotti
Braidotti calls herself a “Deleuzian feminist”, and here are the core Deleuzian inheritances in her work:
a. Nomadism
- One of her key philosophical commitments is to the nomadic subject—directly inspired by Deleuze’s concept of nomadic thought (Difference and Repetition, A Thousand Plateaus).
- For Deleuze, nomads do not simply wander physically, but destabilize fixed categories, refuse hierarchical structures, and think through difference-in-itself.
- Braidotti adapts this for feminist subjectivity: a woman is not a fixed identity but a becoming, a moving line of flight through social constraints.
“Nomadic subjectivity is not about literal movement, but about the constitution of flexible, multiple, and dynamic identities.”
b. Difference and Becoming
- Deleuze’s philosophy of difference over identity, and becoming over being, provides a fundamental ontology for Braidotti.
- For her, the subject is not defined by essence or unity but by processes of becoming—becoming-woman, becoming-animal, becoming-molecular.
- She reworks this through sexual difference, showing how feminist theory can embrace difference without essentialism.
c. Spinozist Ethics and Joy
- Deleuze’s reading of Spinoza influences Braidotti’s ethics: rather than grounding ethics in moral rules, she proposes an affirmative ethics based on joy, affect, and vital interconnection.
- Like Deleuze, she is interested in what bodies can do, not what they are.
“Ethics is not about judgment but about the capacity to affect and be affected in a life-affirming way.”
d. Vitalist Materialism
- Deleuze’s vitalist ontology, especially his concepts of immanence, life, and multiplicity, inspire Braidotti’s zoē-centric posthumanism.
- Zoē (as distinct from bios) refers to life as generative force, nonhuman, impersonal, and non-representational. This is central to her post-anthropocentric turn.
2. Influence of Guattari on Braidotti
Though Braidotti does not explicitly cite Guattari as frequently as Deleuze, several of his key ideas resonate throughout her work:
a. Assemblages and Subjectivity
- Guattari’s notion of assemblages (agencements)—multi-layered compositions of desire, matter, and social forces—is deeply present in Braidotti’s understanding of non-unitary, posthuman subjectivity.
- She, like Guattari, sees subjectivity not as given but produced across ecological, technological, psychic, and social registers.
b. Schizoanalysis and Transversality
- Guattari’s schizoanalysis—an alternative to Freudian psychoanalysis that emphasizes creativity, desire, and transversal connections—echoes in Braidotti’s approach to affect, desire, and power.
- Her work, like Guattari’s, is skeptical of interpretive depth models (e.g., Oedipus complex) and instead looks at flows, ruptures, and intensities.
c. Three Ecologies
- Guattari’s final work, The Three Ecologies (1989), introduces a vision of ecosophy: the co-implication of environmental, mental, and social ecologies.
- This anticipates much of what Braidotti later theorizes as posthuman ecologies, where subjectivity is shaped not only by discourse or affect but also by planetary systems, technologies, and biospheres.
- Her affirmative politics of sustainability and interdependence can be seen as a feminist response to Guattari’s ecosophy.
Key Differences or Emphases
- Feminist grounding: Braidotti grounds Deleuze-Guattarian concepts in a robust tradition of feminist theory, especially sexual difference, something largely absent in Deleuze and Guattari’s own works.
- Ethical orientation: While Guattari tends toward activist micropolitics, Braidotti frames her project around affirmative ethics, spiritual materialism, and vital responsibility in the Anthropocene.
- Posthuman concern: Braidotti extends their thought into posthumanism—a zone they gestured toward but never systematically articulated.
In Summary:
|
Concept |
Deleuze’s Influence |
Guattari’s Influence |
Braidotti’s Transposition |
|
Subjectivity |
Nomadic, becoming |
Assembled, transversal |
Nomadic, embodied, relational |
|
Ethics |
Joy, affect, Spinozist immanence |
Transversal micropolitics |
Affirmative ethics of zoē |
|
Ontology |
Multiplicity, difference, life |
Ecological, machinic |
Vitalist materialism, posthuman |
|
Desire |
Productive, anti-lack |
Anti-Oedipal, desiring-machines |
Feminist, affective, generative |
|
Politics |
Lines of flight, deterritorialization |
Molecular revolutions |
Collective care, sustainability |
—
Would you like to trace how Braidotti’s ethics of zoē might offer a counterpoint to Nick Land’s meltdown ontology? Or perhaps sketch a dialogue between Braidotti and Deleuze on what it means to live ethically in a posthuman world?
