Principles of Non-Philosophy by François Laruelle

Principles of Non-Philosophy Reviews

• 
  Alex Lee

  Though the static synchronistic apparatus of philosophy is described here through a series of cuts by Francois Laruelle. Laruelle attempts to show us how we structure thought not only within philosophy but also how that thought process is informed by the processes outside of philosophy. His main objective is to utilize non-philosophy (mainly science) to help generate concepts that are no longer immanent within philosophy as a for-itself.
  
  The reason many only cursorily familiar with philosophy would think that Hegel started post-modernism is that it is the "Hegelian twist" which characterizes Hegelian philosophy is the turn by which a particular abstraction rises from in-itself to for-itself (aufhebung). Post-modernism is nothing if not a series of different abstractions arising simultaneously as both in-itself in respect to each other but also for-itself as their own universals. Laruelle wishes to avoid this for-itself twist with Hegel and like Deleuze (and Guattari) would cohere thought along the "force of thought" by which an originary difference can become expressive of principles without insisting on its own veracity "in the last instance".
  
  There is much to be admired in this book but unfortunately Laruelle as an academic succumbs to the technicality of academia and thereby produces a stately (although small) book in his attempt to repeat "what is philosophy". Much of the text can be merely seen as an immanent re-tooling of the aesthetic cuts he determines within philosophy as being characteristic of philosophy. In this sense he is re-tooling philosophy from the view of non-philosophy using philosophical bound concepts; making this a difficult to read and often frustratingly erudite mess.
  
  I do think this is a good book though, and has mainly things going for it. Unfortunately Laruelle is writing this as a purely prestige product (one of academia) and thus would justify this kind of pointless jargonism as a for-itself difference claimed from non-philosophy. In other words, this acts as a generative tool and preforms an ideological hierarchy as part of its application. This latent content of who is right to speak is one of the unfortunate actions that come from academic jargonism. Of course if it was too accessible, it would be too easy to offer him prestige. And that's part of the problem.
  
  I was going to fault him for 4 stars and not 5 for this reason but I am split because can we blame someone for being a tool of an institution?
• 
  Marc

  This actually IS the major work of François Laruelle back in the 90's. Following "Théorie des Etrangers", the Principles (which are actually in the course of being translated) show in a clearer way what was sketched and practiced in the former period, just after the drastic change in "Théorie des Etrangers", and thus clearly marks the transition between "Philosophie II" and "Philosophie III".
  
  It is in these Principles that the Real gets untangled from the transcendantal, opening the way to the cloning process of philosophy (with respect to) the One ("selon l'Un" or "en-Un"). I guess the proper sens of unilaterality is gained here, as well as the dualysis method, which is to perform the dualities which will be reconsidered in the nearer period as superpositions of philosophy and a X (the X of "philosophy of X") but without their blending, in a vectorial way.
  
  This is a must-read if one is to gain an insight of the way the thought of François Laruelle unfolds - such insight is as fascinating as it is inspiring. Other landmarks are "Marxism and non-marxism", maybe"Introduction aux sciences génériques" and certainly "Philosophie non-standard".
• 
  Zack2

  So who the hell is this Laruelle guy? A deconstructive Plotinus? A French Sikh? A raving mad German Idealist? An ultra-Humean who's just obsessed with the history of philosophy? It's hard to tell exactly (although my money's on the last option if I have to choose).
  This book probably could have gotten away with being a bit shorter, but I still really enjoyed my time with it. I plan on revisiting it in the future and am really excited to dig deeper into Laruelle and his fellow non-philosophers' works as well in due time.
  
  (music note: goes very well with korean eai such as jin sangtae or ryu hankil)
• 
  Jake

  Indispensable, particularly taken in tandem with ALIEN THEORY (Brassier 2000 - dissertation) and the DICTIONARY OF NON-PHILOSOPHY.