All Thoughts Are Equal: Laruelle and Nonhuman Philosophy

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All Thoughts Are Equal is both an introduction to the work of French philosopher Franois Laruelle and an exercise in nonhuman thinking. For Laruelle, standard forms of philosophy continue to dominate our models of what counts as exemplary thought and knowledge. By contrast, what Laruelle calls his non-standard approach attempts to bring democracy into thought, because all forms of thinkingincluding the nonhumanare equal.

John Maoilearca examines how philosophy might appear when viewed with non-philosophical and nonhuman eyes. He does so by refusing to explain Laruelle through orthodox philosophy, opting instead to follow the structure of a film (Lars von Triers documentary The Five Obstructions) as an example of the non-standard method. Von Triers film is a meditation on the creative limits set by film, both technologically and aesthetically, and how these limits can push our experience of filmand of ourselvesbeyond what is normally deemed the perfect human.

All Thoughts Are Equal adopts films constraints in its own experiment by showing how Laruelles radically new style of philosophy is best presented through our most nonhuman form of thoughtthat found in cinema.

Reviews

"All Thoughts Are Equal is an original act and development of non-philosophical thinking. John Maoilearca gives us a virtuoso tour of Laruellian thought and offers a highly original and significant mutation of non-philosophy in his own right."Ian James, University of Cambridge

"All Thoughts Are Equal is an important and splendid elaboration of the non-philosophy of Francois Laruelle, and one that will no doubt be indispensable."Film-Philosophy

Author Bio

John Maoilearca is professor of film studies at Kingston University, London. He is author of Post-Continental Philosophy: An Outline and Philosophy and the Moving Image: Refractions of Realityand coeditor of Laruelle and Non-Philosophy.