Lecture Notes: Understanding Deleuze and Guattari's Works

Introduction

• Many find Deleuze's works like "Anti-Oedipus" and "A Thousand Plateaus" impenetrable.
• Deleuze challenges conventional perceptions influenced by capitalism.
• Understanding requires a deep dive into critical philosophy.
• A suggested reading list can prepare you to understand "Anti-Oedipus".

Key Recommendations for Reading

• Take Your Time: Aim for about 20 pages per day, but adjust based on material density.
• Journey Over Destination: Understanding is more important than speed.

Suggested Reading List

1. Immanuel Kant

• Focus: "Critique of Pure Reason" - Prefaces and Transcendental Aesthetic.
• Key Concept: Human thought and perception are conditioned by environment and biological needs.
• Introduction to: Method of critique.

2. Henri Bergson

• Books: "Time and Free Will," "Matter and Memory," "Creative Evolution."
• Influence on Deleuze: Critiques of dualism and mechanistic thinking.
• Note: Bergson's translations are reliable.

3. Deleuze on Bergson

• Book: "Bergsonism."
• Length: Approximately 110 pages.

4. Spinoza

• Book: "A Spinoza Reader" by Edwin Curley.
• Focus: Concept of desire not involving lack.

5. Deleuze on Spinoza

• Book: "Spinoza: Practical Philosophy."

6. Friedrich Nietzsche

• Books: "Twilight of the Idols," "The Gay Science," "Beyond Good and Evil," "On the Genealogy of Morality."
• Translations: Walter Kaufmann is recommended.

7. Deleuze on Nietzsche

• Book: "Nietzsche and Philosophy."

Suggested Side Quests

• Explore other philosophers: Judith Butler, Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, etc.
• Classical political philosophy: Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Rousseau.
• More Nietzsche: "Thus Spake Zarathustra," "The Antichrist," "Ecce Homo."

Continuing the Main Reading Journey

1. Karl Marx

• Focus: "Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844" and "Capital" (Part One).

2. Georges Bataille

• Books: "The Accursed Share Volume 1," "Visions of Excess."

3. Pierre Klossowski

• Essays: "Living Currency," "Sade and Fourier."

Additional Side Quests

• Klossowski's "Nietzsche and the Vicious Circle."
• D.H. Lawrence: "Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious," "Fantasia of the Unconscious."
• Bataille's "The Accursed Share Volumes 2 and 3," "Eroticism."
• David Hume: "Treatise of Human Nature."
• Simondon's "On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects."

Final Preparations for "Anti-Oedipus"

• Potential Challenges: The only available translation has issues, such as mistranslations.
• Engagement Tips: Engage deeply; understand the philosophy's links and context.

Conclusion

• A serious, prolonged study is necessary to truly grasp Deleuze's works.
• Philosophy is a Journey: Understanding takes precedence over speed.
• Final Note: Engage, immerse, and take the time needed to understand deeply.