Theory of Identities

Francois Laruelle is emeritus professor at the University of Paris Ouest, Nanterre La Defense (Paris X), and lectures at the College International de Philosophie. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Philosophies of Difference: A Critical Introduction to Non-philosophy (2011) and Christo-Fiction: The Ruins of Athens and Jerusalem (Columbia, 2015), and is the director of L'Organisation Non-Philosophique Internationale. Alyosha Edlebi is a translator and Ph.D. candidate at Yale University. He has published articles on Deleuze, Laruelle, Meillassoux, and Simondon in Deleuze Studies, Theory Culture & Society, Qui Parle, and Parrhesia.

Theory of Identities constitutes the most illustrative proof that 'non-philosophy is a synthesis of quantum theory and Marxism.' It is a testimony of the dense complexity of Laruelle's genius combining methodologically uncompromising scientific rigor and transgressiveness of a mystic's glance into what most of us would choose to avert our eyes from: the point where the comfort of neurosis ceases to exist, which is also the place where neurosis reestablishes itself. -- Katarina Kolozova, author of Cut of the Real: Subjectivity in Poststructuralist Philosophy Aiming to provide a new practice of philosophy by engaging with scientific concepts in a philosophical way, Theory of Identities opens up a space for truly interdisciplinary projects to develop. Rather than paying mere lip service to interdisciplinarity, Laruelle practices it here in the midst of profound reflections on identity, science, and ethics. -- Anthony Paul Smith, author of Francois Laruelle's Principles of Non-Philosophy: A Critical Introduction and Guide This excellent translation of Theory of Identities will be invaluable to anyone who wants to understand Laruelle's nonstandard epistemology. -- John Mullarkey, coeditor of Laruelle and Non-Philosophy

• Preface to the English Edition: Retrospection (2014) Preface to the French Edition (1992) Introduction: Science, Identity, Fractality Part 1: The Essence of Science 1. Science: A Nonepistemological Description 2. Non-philosophy: A Scientific Reform of the Understanding Part 2: Theory of Generalized Fractality 3. Of Determination-in-the-Last-Instance as Destruction of the Principle of Sufficient Determination 4. The Concepts of Generalized Fractality and Chaos Part 3: Principles of an Artificial Philosophy 5. Unified Theory of Thought 6. The Concept of an Artificial Philosophy 7. The Fractal Modeling of Philosophy Notes Index