Gilles Deleuze’s course, 1979-1987
Less well known than his Abécédaire, or the essay he co-authored with Félix Gattari entitled Qu’est-ce que la philosophie? the lecture given by French philosopher Gilles Deleuze at the Université Paris 8 between 1979 and 1987 has nevertheless been recorded and transcribed in almost its entirety. Available in audio form on the BNF and Université Paris 8 websites, the lecture has just been published in paper format.
In this course, Gilles Deleuze deals with numerous authors from the history of philosophy, such as Leibniz, Spinoza and Foucault, but he also takes an interest in political philosophy, literature, painting and cinema. In all, 8 years, 179 sessions and some 413 hours of lectures have been transcribed by Marc de Haas and are now available in pdf format on his website. The 5 volumes published in paper format bring together systematically, rather than chronologically, the various sequences of Gilles Deleuze’s lectures, this time divided by notions, themes and concepts (vols. 1-3), and by philosophers and philosophies (vols. 4-5).
You’ll find entries on concepts, truth and time, as well as on rock’n’roll, ergonomics and coughing fits. And while Leibniz, Kant, Spinoza and Foucault each have their own entry, you’ll also find Plotinus, Avicenna and the Stoics, as well as Michel Serres and Gilbert Simondon. On March 25, 1980, Gilles Deleuze had this to say about philosophy:
“As for philosophical texts, the question is not at all: do you understand? The question is first and foremost: what’s in it for you? You may well feel that something suits you without having yet understood, and you will only understand if you grasp something that suits you.”
I hope you find this book to your liking, and hope you enjoy reading it!
- Gilles Deleuze’s course, 1979-1987 is available in hard copy on the Unithèque website.
- Deleuze’s Abécédaire de Gilles is available on DVD from various websites.
- Qu’est-ce que la philosophie? is available in hard copy on the Unithèque website.
Maël Goarzin
Head of philosophy and psychology collections, BCUL site Unithèque
Photo credits: Gilles Deleuze, by IgnjatNikola, CC BY-SA license.
