Deleuze’s reversal of Platonism shifted the traditional emphasis on thinking that which participates in a concept to that in which a claim to participation occurs. The first part of this article presents a reading of this reversal that highlights the implications of Deleuze’s ontology for his non-ontological account of participation, highlighting how this ontology builds on aspects of Plato’s philosophy recovered from beneath the later Platonic tradition of philosophy and supports Deleuze’s account of the rival claims of philosophy and opinion (...) to participate in thought. The second part outlines the difficulties presented by philosophy’s constitutive participation in friendship, love, and rivalry for it to be able to achieve its distinctive task of creating concepts that defeat opinion’s rival claims to address the problems that present themselves to thought. (shrink)

David Rothenberg, a philosophy professor and Jazz musician, has been improvising with nonhuman animals for years, among his playing partners are birds and whales, known to be territorial animals. As Deleuze and Guattari propose that the origin of art is precisely the territorialising animal and more a function of nature than a specifically human cultural achievement, their concept of territory and rhythm offers a non-anthropocentric way of looking at these encounters. Rothenberg’s sonic experiments in resonance and interspecies interaction do not (...) rely on language, thus I argue that the human and the nonhuman animals form a temporary joint territory via sonic rhythms and engage in a mutual becoming by forming a rhizome. His sound thinking practice thus also helps in decentralising further anthropocentric models of music and art. (shrink)

The interplay between urban and rural lifestyles in the modern era, influenced by globalisation, technological advancements and societal shifts, underscores a complex fusion of cultures and behaviours. This convergence reshapes communal dynamics and territorial perceptions. Drawing from Deleuze and Guattari's philosophical framework, particularly concepts of territory, deterritorialisation and reterritorialisation, this study explores the emergence of urban subcultures resembling rural communities. Through ornamental behaviour and the repetition of cultural events, urban spaces undergo a transformative process akin to ritornello, establishing distinct territories (...) marked by creative expressions. The territories are justified and consolidated by a repeated performance of the social ornament which is a set of rules, practices and material products. All these phenomena, infused with the event (Deleuze) and moments of awe (Leddy), intertwine aesthetics and ethics, promoting community unity and well-being. This inquiry not only clarifies social phenomena but also indicates pathways for a more fulfilling societal existence. (shrink)