What It Means to Do Philosophy

Deleuze on Problems, Concepts and Creation

The question of what philosophy is and what it means to do philosophy is not easy to answer. If I were to ask you, I am pretty sure I would get quite different answers depending on where you live, what kind of education you have, whether you have had philosophical training or not, and what kind of training that is (analytical, phenomenological, and so forth).

Some of you would probably tell me that philosophy is the love of wisdom or knowledge (philosophia, φιλοσοφία), which is the standard answer from Plato. However, this definition says very little about what it really means to do philosophy, and it does not capture the complex nature of philosophy as a field of inquiry.

Philosophers themselves struggle with this question and have long debated the nature and purpose of philosophy. Is it about discovering truth, questioning assumptions, or improving the way we live? Some see it as a rigorous method of reasoning, while others see it as a way of life. To make matters worse, philosophy is an ever-evolving discipline, constantly adding new aspects to the practice of philosophy.

Greek philosophy played a major role in shaping how we think about philosophy itself. Figures such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle explored knowledge, ethics, and the nature of reality, laying the foundation for many later debates. Its methods, especially its emphasis on logic and argument, influenced both Western and non-Western traditions.

The practice of philosophy and its purpose have also been a central questions in French postwar philosophy. One need only think of the difference between the philosophies of Jean-Paul Sartre, Michel Foucault, Simone de Beauvoir, or Gilles Deleuze to see this. But for me, it is Gilles Deleuze who has given us the clearest definition of what philosophy is and should be about.

In the following article, I would like to discuss his definition of philosophy. I will first introduce him, then focus on his words, before concluding with my own views — as a philosopher — on this important topic, which clearly shows the relevance of philosophy today.

The Life of Gilles Deleuze

Born in Paris to conservative, middle-class parents, Gilles Deleuze spent most of his life in the same neighborhood. His education was largely conventional, taking place in public schools. The only significant break in this pattern occurred during the German occupation of France in 1940, when he spent a year in Normandy.

Deleuze’s private life was relatively ordinary. He was married and had two children. He rarely traveled abroad and preferred writing to attending academic conferences, believing that true philosophy occurs primarily through the act of writing.

The most traumatic event in Deleuze’s life occurred during the Occupation, when his older brother, Georges Deleuze, was arrested by the Nazis for resistance activities and died en route to a concentration camp. During his time in Normandy, he met Pierre Halbwachs, a teacher who introduced him to influential writers and stimulated his interest in literature and philosophy.

After the Liberation, Deleuze returned to Paris to continue his education. He studied at prestigious institutions such as the Lycée Henri IV and the Sorbonne, where he was influenced by notable philosophers such as Jean Hippolyte, Ferdinand Alquié, and Jean-Paul Sartre. His academic career began with the publication of his first book on Hume in 1953, followed by a less prolific period until his work on Nietzsche in 1962.

Deleuze’s career accelerated in the late 1960s with the publication of his doctoral dissertation and his appointment to the University of Paris VIII. His collaboration with Félix Guattari, which began in 1969, led to several influential works, including their first major collaboration, Anti-Œdipus, published in 1972.

Throughout the 1980s, Deleuze produced numerous independent works on topics ranging from cinema to philosophy. Despite struggling with illness in his later years, Deleuze continued to write until shortly before his death by suicide on November 4, 1995, at the age of 70.

What Philosophy Is About

At heart, Deleuze was a creator. He moved concepts around, created new ones, and used them to question classical philosophers (like Spinoza, Nietzsche, or Kant) and painters (like Turner).