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Jeffrey Bell argues that a motivating problematic for existentialist writers is the attempt to think through the implications of the problematic nature of life. He applies a Deleuzian theory of problems to an analysis of some key concepts in contemporary social and political theory. Building on the metaphysics of problems set out in his book, An Inquiry into Analytic-Continental Metaphysics, he provides a new way of integrating the concerns of existentialist writers into contemporary political and social debates.

From the early 1960s until his death, French philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1925-1995) wrote many influential works on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. One of Deleuze's main philosophical projects was a systematic inversion of the traditional relationship between identity and difference. This Deleuzian philosophy of difference is the subject of Jeffrey A. Bell's Philosophy at the Edge of Chaos. Bell argues that Deleuze's efforts to develop a philosophy of difference are best understood by exploring both Deleuze's claim to be a Spinozist, and Nietzsche's claim to have found in Spinoza an important precursor. Beginning with an analysis of these claims, Bell shows how Deleuze extends and transforms concepts at work in Spinoza and Nietzsche to produce a philosophy of difference that promotes and, in fact, exemplifies the notions of dynamic systems and complexity theory. With these concepts at work, Deleuze constructs a philosophical approach that avoids many of the difficulties that linger in other attempts to think about difference. Bell uses close readings of Plato, Aristotle, Spinoza, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, and Whitehead to illustrate how Deleuze's philosophy is successful in this regard and to demonstrate the importance of the historical tradition for Deleuze. Far from being a philosopher who turns his back on what is taken to be a mistaken metaphysical tradition, Bell argues that Deleuze is best understood as a thinker who endeavoured to continue the work of traditional metaphysics and philosophy

Beginning with Plato and Aristotle, philosophers throughout history have built their theories around the problem of reconciling a fundamental distinction, as for example, Plato's distinction between knowledge (reality) and opinion (appearance), Descarte's mind/body distinction, and Kant's a priori/a posteriori distinction. This 'problem of difference' is a classic theme in philosophy, and one that has taken especially intriguing turns in recent decades. Jeffrey A. Bell here presents a finely constructed survey of the contemporary continental philosophers, focusing on how they have dealt with the problem of difference. Bell's work centres around three key figures - Husserl, Merleau-Ponty, and Deleuze. He also considers the positions of such thinkers as Foucault, Derrida, and Rorty, who have called for an end to the traditional response to the problem of difference - an end to the search for any ultimate foundations on which our varied and different experiences of the world might be based - and thus, in effect, an end to traditional philosophy.In clarifying the relationship between phenomenology and poststructuralism, Bell analyses the role of paradox in both traditions, in particular the role it plays in accounting for difference. Not only philosophers, but also teachers and students in the area of comparative literary they will benefit from this book

Because no movement resembling American social conservatism exists in any other affluent democracy, it is widely seen as a "retro" phenomenon soon to disappear, a sure casualty of globalization. Author and political activist Jeffrey Bell argues that social conservatism is uniquely American precisely because it's an outgrowth of American exceptionalism. It exists here because our founding principles, centering on the belief that we receive equal rights from God rather than from government, remain popular among American voters--if not at elite institutions. Bell argues that upheavals of the 1960s set the stage for social conservatism's rise. The left's agenda, particularly the sexual revolution, triumphed among elite opinion in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and elsewhere. This happened after the left sidelined its century-long drive for socialism and returned to its roots in the 18th-century thought of Rousseau and the revolutionary Jacobins, radicals who sought to break free from civilizing institutions, particularly religion and the family. American social conservatism derives from a branch of the Enlightenment that Bell analyzes as the "conservative enlightenment." The ability of this optimistic belief system, which dominated the American founding and transformed the English-speaking world, to spread its natural-law-centered vision of democracy will affect the shape of politics in the decades ahead.

This book offers the first extended comparison of the philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and David Hume. Jeffrey Bell argues that Deleuze's early work on Hume was instrumental to Deleuze's formulation of the problems and concepts that would remain a focus of his entire corpus. Reading Deleuze's work in light of Hume's influence, along with a comparison of Deleuze's work with William James, Henri Bergson, and others, sets the stage for a vigorous defense of his philosophy against a number of recent criticisms, and it extends the field of Deleuze studies by showing how Deleuze's thought can clarify

Despite the fact that time, evolution, becoming and genealogy are central concepts in Deleuze's work there has been no sustained study of his philosophy in relation to the question of history. This book aims to open up Deleuze's relevance to those working in history, the history of ideas, science studies, evolutionary psychology, history of philosophy and interdisciplinary projects inflected by historical problems

Explores the contemporary significance of Alfred North Whitehead's 1927 book Symbolism: Its Meaning and EffectThis collection of 11 essays form a new examination of Whitehead's Barbour-Page lectures, which were published as the book Symbolism: Its Meaning and Effect in 1927. Leading Whitehead scholars give you exciting insights into the contemporary implications of Whitehead's symbolism in an era of new scientific, cultural and technological developments. As a result, Whitehead's philosophy is reinvigorated in the context of contemporary discussions and debates. This volume also serves as a critical point of entry into Whitehead's more lengthy and complex work such as Process and Reality, and to his body of work as a whole.ContributorsJeffrey Bell, Professor of Philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana UniversityRoland Faber, Kilsby Family/John B. Cobb, Jr., Professor of Process Studies at Claremont School of Theology, Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Claremont Graduate University, Co-Director of the Center for Process Studies and Executive Director of the Whitehead Research ProjectMichael Halewood, Senior Lecturer at the University of EssexLuke Higgins, Lecturer in Philosophy at Armstrong UniversityCatherine Keller, Professor of Constructive Theology and Henry Luce Fellow at the Theological School and Graduate Division of Religion at Drew UniversitySheri Kling, Doctoral Candidate in Process Thought at Claremont School of TheologyHyo-Dong Lee, Associate Professor of Comparative Theology at the Theological School and Graduate Division of Religion at Drew UniversityBeatrice Marovich, Writer and Assistant Professor in the Department of Theological Studies at Hanover CollegeAdam Nocek, Assistant Professor in Philosophy of Technology and Science and Technology Studies in the School of Arts, Media + Engineering at Arizona State UniversityJoseph Petek, Doctoral Student in Process Thought at Claremont School of Theology, Chief Archivist of the Whitehead Research Project, Assistant Series Editor for the Critical Edition of Whitehead and English Coordinator for the Balkan Journal of PhilosophyKeith Robinson, Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Arkansas at Little RockSteven Shaviro, DeRoy Professor of English at Wayne State University"

A collaborative close reading of A Thousand Plateaus by some of the world's leading Deleuze and Guattari scholarsThis volume brings together a team of international specialists on Deleuze and Guattari to provide in-depth critical studies of each plateau of their major work, A Thousand Plateaus. It combines an overview of the text with deep scholarship and brings a renewed focus on the philosophical significance of their project.A Thousand Plateaus represents a whole new way of doing philosophy. This collection supports the critical reception of Deleuze and Guattari's text as one of the most important and influential works of modern theory.Key FeaturesEmphasises the philosophical nature of A Thousand PlateausProvides detailed coverage of the text as a whole Brings together cutting edge research from some of the leading lights in scholarship on Deleuze and GuattariAn ideal companion to a plateau-by-plateau reading of Deleuze and Guattari's workContributorsMiguel de Beistegui, University of Warwick, UKJeffrey A. Bell, Southeastern Louisiana University, USARonald Bogue, University of Georgia, USARay Brassier, American University of Beirut, LebanonEugene W. Holland, Ohio State University, USAEmma Ingala, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, ItalySimon O'Sullivan, Goldsmiths, University of London, UKHelen Palmer, Kingston University London, UKPaul Patton, University of New South Wales, AustraliaJohn Protevi, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USADaniel W. Smith, Purdue University, USAHenry Somers-Hall, Royal Holloway, University of London, UKAudrey Wasser, Miami University, USANathan Widder, Royal Holloway, University of London, UKJames Williams, Deakin University, Australia

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Whistle While You Work: Deleuze and the Spirit of Capitalism -- 2. The Ethics of the Event: Deleuze and Ethics without Aρxń -- 3. While Remaining on the Shore: Ethics in Deleuze's Encounter with Antonin Artaud -- 4. Responsive Becoming: Ethics between Deleuze and Feminism -- 5. Deleuze, Values, and Normativity -- 6. Ethics and the World without Others -- 7. Deleuze and the Question of Desire: Towards an Immanent Theory of Ethics -- 8. "Existing Not as a Subject But as a Work of Art": The Task of Ethics or Aesthetics? -- 9. Deleuze, Ethics, Ethology, and Art -- 10. Never Too Late? On the Implications of Deleuze's Work on Death for a Deleuzian Moral Philosophy -- 11. Ethics between Particularity and Universality -- Notes on Contributors -- Index

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction What is Sex? An Introduction to the Sexual Philosophy of Gilles Deleuze -- Chapter 1 Alien Sex: Octavia Butler and Deleuze and Guattari's Polysexuality -- Chapter 2 Heterotica: The 1000 Tiny Sexes of Anaïs Nin -- Chapter 3 Haemosexuality -- Chapter 4 Disability, Deleuze and Sex -- Chapter 5 Tongue and Trigger: Deleuze's Erotics of the Uncanny -- Chapter 6 (Hetero)sexing the Child: Hans, Alice and the Repressive Hypothesis -- Chapter 7 The 'Non-Human Sex' in Sexuality: 'What are Your Special Desiring-machines?' -- Chapter 8 Deleuze and Selfless Sex: Undoing Kant's Copernican Revolution -- Chapter 9 A Preface to Pornotheology: Spinoza, Deleuze and the Sexing of Angels -- Chapter 10 Encounters of Ecstasy -- Chapter 11 Beyond Sexuality: Of Love, Failure and Revolutions -- Notes on the Contributors -- Index