Superpositions: Laruelle and the Humanities(Critical Perspectives on Theory, Culture and Politics)

About the Book

One of the most important French philosophers working today, François Laruelle has developed an innovative and powerful repertoire of concepts across an oeuvre spanning four decades and more than twenty books. His work—termed non-philosophy or, more recently, non-standard philosophy—has garnered international attention in recent years and stands likely to have a significant impact on the critical practices of the humanities in the near future.

Bringing together some of the most prominent scholars of Laruelle, Superpositions: Laruelle and the Humanities explores the intersections of Laruelle’s work with multiple discourses within the humanities, including philosophy, critical theory, political theory, media studies, and religious studies. The book addresses two main questions: In what relation does non-philosophical thought stand with respect to the materials and methods of other disciplines? How can Laruelle’s non-standard philosophy be applied, appropriated and used by other discourses? Superpositions provides a useful introduction to Laruelle’s work for students and scholars, and marks an important intervention into one of the most vigorous and contested areas of contemporary scholarship in the critical humanities.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements/ 1. Introduction: Superposing Non-Standard Philosophy and Humanities Discourse, Rocco Gangle and Julius Greve/ 2 Circumventing the Problem of Initiation: On Introductions to Non-Philosophy, John Ó Maoilearca/ 3 (Non-)Human Identity and Radical Immanence: On Man-in-Person in François Laruelle’s Non-Philosophy, Alex Dubilet/ 4 Prophetic Reiteration: Laruelle, Non-Relationality, and the Field of Religion, Daniel Colucciello Barber/ 5 Critical Theory as Theoretical Practice: Althusserianism in Laruelle and Adorno, Dave Mesing/ 6 The Decisional Apparatus: Jameson, Flusser, Laruelle, Julius Greve/ 7 The Inhuman and the Automaton: Exploitation and the Exploited in the Era of Late Capitalism, Katerina Kolozova/ 8 Expérience in the (Philosophical) Abyss, Benjamin Norris/ 9 Laruelle and the Humanities Research Program, Rocco Gangle/ 10 Generalized Transformations and Technologies of Investigation: Laruelle, Art, and the Scientific Model, Keith Tilford/ 11 Marx with Planck: The Quantization of Non-Standard Marxism, François Laruelle (trans. Rocco Gangle)/ 12 What is Generic Science?, Alexander R. Galloway/ Contributors/ Index

About the Author :

Rocco Gangle is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Endicott College. He is the author of François Laruelle’s Philosophies of Difference: A CriticalIntroduction and Guide and Diagrammatic Immanence: Category Theoryand Philosophy (both with Edinburgh University Press) and the co-author, with Gianluca Caterina, of Iconicity and Abduction (Springer Press).


Julius Greve is a Lecturer and Research Associate at the Institute for English and American Studies, University of Oldenburg. He recently completed his doctoral studies in American literature at the University of Cologne. Greve has published articles on Cormac McCarthy, Mark Z. Danielewski, Fredric Jameson, and Speculative Realism, and he is the co-editor of the essay collection America and the Musical Unconscious (Atropos, 2015). Currently, he is working on a book project on the concept of nature in the novels of McCarthy. Greve’s further research interests encompass the tradition of intermediality in American cultural practices and the history of critical theory.

Review :
Francois Laruelle's non-philosophy is as difficult of access as it is seductive and alluring. This volume, with its emphasis on relating non-philosophy to the humanities generally (rather than to philosophy in particular) offers the reader a number of ways in - of entries to Laruelle's radical democracy of thought. Superpositions offers an introductory overview of Laruellian non-philosophy of exemplary clarity, rigour, and accessibility. At the same time it demonstrates the force and power of non-philosophy for thinking and creative innovation within the humanities, social sciences and beyond. It is a hugely welcome and indispensable addition to the burgeoning reception of Laruelle’s thought.