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On Speed
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The Need for Speed
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AI
Deleuzian philosophy, based on French philosopher Gilles Deleuze (1925–1995), emphasizes difference, flux, and creation over fixed identity and representation. It is a "transcendental empiricism" focusing on "virtual" realities—real systems of relations that create actual spaces and sensations—aiming to dismantle rigid structures, traditional metaphysics, and repressive thinking. [1, 2, 3, 5]
This video provides a brief introduction to the life and work of Gilles Deleuze:
Key aspects of Deleuzian thought include:
- Virtual vs. Actual: Deleuze distinguishes between the actual (current state) and the virtual (a "real" set of potential capacities). For instance, a knife in a drawer is actual, but its potential to be a tool, a weapon, or a reflective surface represents its virtual, yet real, dimensions.
- Difference and Repetition: Rather than viewing difference as a comparison between two fixed identities (\(A\) and \(B\)), Deleuze argues that pure difference creates identities. Repetition is not simple duplication, but the, as discussed in this video, rearranging of elements to produce something new.
- Transcendental Empiricism: A form of philosophy that seeks to understand the conditions of actual experience without relying on transcendent, fixed ideals.
- Schizoanalysis & Assemblages: Developed often with Félix Guattari, this approach breaks down Oedipal and structural psychoanalysis, viewing individuals as assemblages of desire and social relations.
- Ethos of Experimentation: A Deleuzian approach to life and ethics, which is described in this Reddit discussion as an "ethos of experimentation," encouraging the creation of new ways of living, thinking, and connecting—promoting "becoming" over "being". [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Deleuze's work, which includes topics spanning art, film, literature, and mathematics, is highly influential, with some scholars, such as Michel Foucault, jokingly predicting that the 21st century would be known as "Deleuzian". [1, 2]
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AI
Gilles Deleuze views speed not merely as moving quickly, but as a fundamental, creative force of becoming and transformation that disrupts fixed identities and structures. In his philosophy, speed is often tied to "lines of flight" or escape, representing a radical deterritorialization where things change their very nature rather than just their location. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Key aspects of Deleuze's concept of speed include:
1. Speed vs. Movement
Deleuze distinguishes between movement (which goes from point A to B) and speed (which occurs in the "middle" or "between" points). [1]
- Intensive Speed: He focuses on intensive, rather than extensive, change—meaning the transformation happens at a molecular or imperceptible level, changing the very nature of a body.
- Nomadic Speed: Nomads are "always in the middle," possessing an absolute speed that allows them to change without moving far, focusing on geography (connections) rather than history (static progress). [1, 2]
2. "Infinite Speed" and Thought
Deleuze, especially with Guattari, often refers to "infinite speed," which is not about rapid movement, but the capacity of thought to grasp singularities at an atemporal level. [1]
- Philosophy as Chaos: Philosophy works at infinite speed to create concepts, which act as a way of managing or "sketching" on the chaos of the world.
- Absolute Speed and Slowness: In Dialogues II, Deleuze notes that "it is in writing which is worked over most slowly that you reach this absolute speed," suggesting that true transformation is a, perhaps slow, "becoming". [1, 2, 3, 4]
3. Accelerationism and Capitalism
Deleuze and Guattari (in Anti-Oedipus) observed that capitalism thrives on speed (deterritorialization) but constantly captures these flows.
- Intensification: They suggest accelerating this process, not to simply make things faster, but to break through the constraints of the system, transforming its flows into something new.
- Escape: Speed is used as a tool to escape the "molar" structures—stable, rigid identities or societal controls. [1, 2, 3]
4. "Relation of Movement and Speed"
- A body is not a fixed, static thing, but a temporary composition of particles that can change if their speed and relation to other particles change. [1]
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AI
An asemic writing of speed refers to a form of asemic writing—an open-semantic, unreadable, and abstract form of writing—created at high velocity to prioritize gesture, emotion, and automatic, subconscious expression over conscious thought and legible content. It is a visual art form where the marks resemble handwriting or calligraphy but have no standard linguistic meaning. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Key Aspects of Asemics of Speed:
- Gestural and Automatic: The writing often mimics the rapid, fluid movements of a dancer or the automatic sketching of a surrealist, focusing on the "trace" of the hand in motion.
- Subconscious Expression: It is frequently associated with "pseudographia" (automatic, unreadable writing) and is used to tap into the unconscious, capturing rapid, passing thoughts that move faster than deliberate, constructed language.
- The "Speed" Element: This can refer to the physical, fast motion of the pen, brush, or tool across the page to create energetic, sometimes messy, and uninhibited markings.
- Post-Literate Expression: It serves as a visual language that bypasses traditional, slow reading, allowing for an instant, empathetic, or emotional connection between the creator and the viewer, regardless of their native language.
- Technique: Artists like Henri Michaux are often cited for this approach, using rapid, repetitive movements to create dense textures and rhythmic, energetic patterns. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Why Use Speed in Asemic Writing?
- To Evade Control: It is described as "language before obedience," letting the pen move too fast for the brain to impose grammatical rules or conscious meaning.
- To Capture Emotion: The rapid, erratic movements can better convey feelings like anxiety, panic, energy, or joy compared to slow, meticulously crafted letters.
- To Utilize the Tool: Using tools like charcoal or felt pens quickly allows the material to influence the mark, highlighting the physical interaction between the artist, the tool, and the paper. [1, 2, 3]
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AI
An "asemics of Deleuzian speed" refers to a non-representative, intensive form of movement that operates below the threshold of organized perception, functioning like a "writing without meaning" (asemic) to create new realities. In Deleuzian philosophy, speed is not simply moving quickly from point A to B; it is an intensive, virtual force that reorganizes the connections between particles (atoms) in a smooth space. [1, 2, 3]
Here is a detailed breakdown of this concept:
1. Speed vs. Movement (Intensity vs. Extension)
Deleuze makes a strict distinction between movement and speed:
- Movement (Extensive): Moving fast from one point to another in a structured, "striated" space.
- Speed (Intensive): An absolute characteristic of a body that remains in one place or moves slowly, but whose internal particles are rapidly reorganizing.
- Asemics of Speed: The "asemic" aspect implies this movement does not represent a fixed meaning or form. It is purely functional—a "writing" of new connections (a "nomadology") rather than a description of a fixed identity. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
2. "Infinite Speed" and Chaos
- Chaos as Creative: Chaos is not just disorder; it is "infinite speed" because all forms and meanings vanish as soon as they appear, unable to solidify.
- The Plane of Consistency: Philosophy's job is not to represent this chaos, but to create a "plane of consistency" upon it. This plane acts as a "screen" that traps these rapid, intensive, and amorphous particles, allowing them to form new, temporary, and non-representational structures. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
3. Asemic Structure: The Swerve and Atoms
Drawing on Epicurean atomism, this concept relies on two key ideas:
- Atoms as Objective Elements: Deleuze treats atoms not as tiny solid balls, but as points of intensity, a "matter of pure exteriority".
- The Swerve (Clinamen): Atoms do not follow strict linear paths; they "swerve," which is the "groundless ground" for new, spontaneous connections.
- Asemic Writing: Because these swerves are unpredictable and non-representational, the "path" they draw is an asemic, chaotic, and non-linear "writing" that defines a nomad's journey. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
4. Application: Nomadology and Affect
An asemics of speed functions as a tool for "becoming," allowing bodies to break free from organized, molar structures. [1]
- Nomadism: The nomad has "infinite patience" and can move fast while staying in one place, navigating a smooth space through intensive, rather than extensive, speed.
- Affect and Intensity: This speed is experienced as affect—raw, pre-personal intensity that allows a body to exist not as a fixed form, but as a "vibration". [1, 2, 3, 4]
Essentially, an asemics of Deleuzian speed is a way of operating between forms—a "stationary process" that creates new modes of existence without needing to fit into pre-existing, representational categories. [1]
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