Against Continuity: Gilles Deleuze's Speculative Realism

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Against Continuity: Gilles Deleuze's Speculative Realism by Arjen Kleinherenbrink is a bold and original reinterpretation of Deleuze’s philosophy through the lens of speculative realism. In this incisive work, Kleinherenbrink challenges the dominant readings of Deleuze that emphasize continuity, immanence, and relationality. Instead, he argues that Deleuze’s metaphysics offers a profound commitment to a world composed of discrete, individual entities—what Kleinherenbrink refers to as a “pluralistic realism.” Rejecting the view that Deleuze’s thought collapses differences into a smooth field of continuity, Against Continuity presents an alternative interpretation that highlights Deleuze’s focus on singularities, multiplicities, and the autonomy of things. Kleinherenbrink places Deleuze in conversation with key figures in speculative realism and object-oriented ontology, suggesting that Deleuze can be seen as a speculative realist avant la lettre, concerned with the reality of objects beyond human thought and perception. The book meticulously analyzes central Deleuzian concepts such as difference, repetition, becoming, and virtuality, offering fresh insights into Deleuze’s metaphysical project. By doing so, Kleinherenbrink opens up new possibilities for understanding Deleuze’s work as part of contemporary debates about realism, materialism, and metaphysics. Against Continuity is a rigorous and thought-provoking contribution to Deleuze scholarship and an important text for anyone interested in speculative philosophy and contemporary metaphysical realism.