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Book Review of Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy by Manuel Delanda

Delanda, Manuel. Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy. New York: Continuum, 2002.

Manuel Delanda is not the least controversial of Deleuzians. His earlier book A Thousand Years of Nonlinear History attempted a synthesis of Gilles Deleuze, historian Fernand Braudel, and non-linear dynamics and, while a fascinating read, it still leaves something to be desired. In his latest book Intensive Science and Virtual Philosophy (hereafter referred to as Intensive Science) Delanda again attempts a synthesis, but this time without the history. Essentially, Delanda looks for resonances between Deleuze’s ontology and epistemology and recent discoveries which have been made independently in systems theory, complexity theory, and non-linear dynamics. A book written for both no one and everyone, philosophers and scientists alike, Intensive Science assumes nothing, starts from the beginning, and makes the reader feel comfortable with the concepts before moving on. Among it and all the other works it cites, Intensive Science is most likely the easiest read.

One might attempt to compare Deleuze scholarship with Nietzsche scholarship. In this case, Delanda’s Deleuze is closer to Kaufmann’s Nietzsche than it is to Bataille’s. That is to say, the Deleuze presented by Delanda is recognizable, even if his fingernails are trimmed. Delanda deftly juggles some of Deleuze’s most impenetrable texts, such as Logic of Sense, Difference and Repetition, and A Thousand Plateaus without batting an eye. Overall, Delanda’s analysis is both illuminating and creative. This book is highly recommended, even (especially) for those who are not familiar with anything I’ve talked about above.

The Proclamation of Baghdad

c/o Harpers.org: "The following proclamation was issued to the inhabitants of Baghdad on March 19, 1917, by Lieut. General Sir Stanley Maude, shortly after the occupation of the city by British forces."

To the People of Baghdad Vilayet:

In the name of my King, and in the name of the peoples over whom he rules, I address you as follow:-

Our military operations have as their object the defeat of the enemy, and the driving of him from these territories. In order to complete this task, I am charged with absolute and supreme control of all regions in which British troops operate; but our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators. Since the days of Halaka your city and your lands have been subject to the tyranny of strangers, your palaces have fallen into ruins, your gardens have sunk in desolation, and your forefathers and yourselves have groaned in bondage. Your sons have been carried off to wars not of your seeking, your wealth has been stripped from you by unjust men and squandered in distant places.

...

But you people of Baghdad, whose commercial prosperity and whose safety from oppression and invasion must ever be a matter of the closest concern to the British Government, are not to understand that it is the wish of the British Government to impose upon you alien institutions. It is the hope of the British Government that the aspirations of your philosophers and writers shall be realised and that once again the people of Baghdad shall flourish, enjoying their wealth and substance under institutions which are in consonance with their sacred laws and their racial ideals. In Hedjaz the Arabs have expelled the Turks and Germans who oppressed them and proclaimed the Sherif Hussein as their King, and his Lordship rules in independence and freedom, and is the ally of the nations who are fighting against the power of Turkey and Germany; so indeed are the noble Arabs, the Lords of Koweyt, Nejd, and Asir.