His primary objective is to liberate difference from these constraints, allowing it to be thought as a dynamic force rather than merely the lack of sameness. 2. "Difference in Itself" vs. "Difference between Objects" Deleuze distinguishes between two types of difference:
The Affirmation of Difference: Reimagining Ontology in Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition Difference and Repetition
Traditional Western philosophy has consistently viewed difference through the lens of identity, opposition, analogy, and resemblance. For instance, a leaf is only defined as "different" when contrasted with another leaf (resemblance) or categorized within a general type (identity). Deleuze argues that this "image of thought" reduces the world to a static mental representation. His primary objective is to liberate difference from
Deleuze argues that the "eternal return" is not a cycle of identical events, but a mechanism where only the difference returns, producing something new every time it repeats. 4. The Three Syntheses of Time Deleuze argues that the "eternal return" is not
True repetition produces a new difference each time.
A naive view that the same event occurs twice.
In Difference and Repetition , Gilles Deleuze launches a radical critique of Western metaphysics, arguing that philosophy has historically subordinated "difference" to "identity" and "representation." Deleuze proposes a reversal of this structure, advocating for an ontology where difference exists in-itself, independent of pre-defined concepts or subjects. By analyzing repetition not as a mechanical return of the same, but as a productive force creating novelty, this paper outlines how Deleuze shifts focus from being to becoming , from representations to intensive singularities. 1. Introduction: The Crisis of Representation