Isolated Experiences

Isolated Experiences Synopsis

Traversing the genres of philosophy and literature, this book elaborates Deleuze's notion of difference, conceives certain individuals as embodying difference, and applies these conceptions to their writings.

By extending Gilles Deleuze's philosophy through diverse literary tracts, this book develops an account of what it means to be different and enters important contemporary debates about identity and the nature of solitude. At the same time, the book elaborates a limited philosophy. From unusual writings and rare human experiences, James Brusseau forges compelling understandings that scrupulously preserve his subjects' irregularities. The resulting philosophic narrative remains strictly localized; it elucidates narrow bands of experience and refuses broadening generalizations.

The book's first section rigorously elaborates Deleuze's pioneering notion of difference. The second part conceives certain individuals as embodying difference and then employs the conception to elude difficulties blocking recent work on subjectivity. Part three combines insights from the first two parts with Isabelle Eberhardt's North African travel journals. In Eberhardt, Brusseau finds sexualities and a solitude that only Deleuze's unique notion of difference can explain.

An energetic interaction between philosophy and literature drives this book. Brusseau weaves back and forth between the genres, engaging diverse literatures not only to embody but also to refine his philosophic positions. The literary authors he discusses range from Shakespeare and Fitzgerald to Borges, Bataille, and Eberhardt.