A New Philosophy of Society Assemblage Theory and Social Complexity

by Delanda, Manuel

• ISBN13: 9780826481702
• ISBN10: 0826481701
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-11-14
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Manuel DeLanda is a distinguished writer, artist and philosopher. In his new book, he offers a fascinating look at how the contemporary world is characterized by an extraordinary social complexity. Since most social entitles, from small communities to large nation-states, would disappear altogether if human minds ceased to exist, Delanda proposes a novel approach to social ontology that asserts the autonomy of social entities from the conceptions we have of them. This highly original and important book takes the reader on a journey that starts with personal relations and climbs up one scale at a time all the way to territorial states and beyond. Only by experiencing this upward movement can we get a sense of the irreducible social complexity that characterizes the contemporary world.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(7)
Assemblages against Totalities	8	(18)
Assemblages against Essences	26	(21)
Persons and Networks	47	(21)
Organizations and Governments	68	(26)
Cities and Nations	94	(47)
Index	141