In a footnote in What Is Philosophy? (1991/2009)\, Gilles Deleuze and Fé\;lix Guattari write that Franç\;ois Laruelle &ldquo\;is engaged in one of the most interesting undertakings of contemporary philosophy&rdquo\; (220). Referencing Laruelle&rsquo\;s Philosophy and Non-Philosophy (1989/2013)\, they continue that Laruelle &ldquo\;invokes a One-All that he qualifies as &lsquo\;nonphilosophical&rsquo\; and\, oddly\, as &lsquo\;scientific\,&rsquo\; on which the &lsquo\;philosophical decision&rsquo\; takes root&rdquo\; (220). They conclude that &ldquo\;this One-All seems to be close to Spinoza&rdquo\; (220). The footnote appears in the chapter &ldquo\;The Plane of Immanence&rdquo\;\, in a passage in which Deleuze and Guattari discuss the role of the &ldquo\;prephilosophical&rdquo\; as well as the &ldquo\;nonphilosophical&rdquo\;: the former is what philosophy presupposes\, while the latter is &ldquo\;perhaps closer to the heart of philosophy than philosophy itself\, and this means that philosophy cannot be contet to be understood only philosophically or conceptually\, but is addressed essentially to nonphilosophers as well&rdquo\; (41).
\nThe second and final instance of Laruelle&rsquo\;s work in What Is Philosophy? occurs in the book&rsquo\;s last footnote\, in &ldquo\;Conclusion: From Chaos to the Brain&rdquo\;. Deleuze and Guattari write that Laruelle &ldquo\;proposes a comprehension of nonphilosophy as the &lsquo\;real (of) science\,&rsquo\; beyond the object of knowledge&rdquo\;\, admitting that they &ldquo\;do not see why this real of science is not nonscience as well&rdquo\; (234). The context of the footnote is again the relation between philosophy and nonphilosophy. Deleuze and Guattari underline the point in italics: &ldquo\;Philosophy needs a nonphilosophy that comprehends it\; it needs a nonphilosophical comprehension just as art needs nonart and science needs nonscience&rdquo\; (218).
\nThe question of whether Laruelle&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;oddly scientific&rdquo\; &ldquo\;One-All&rdquo\;\, as Deleuze and Guattari put it\, is close to Spinoza seems to have been the subject of discussion between Deleuze and Laruelle for several years. In 1988\, Laruelle wrote &ldquo\;Letter to Deleuze&rdquo\; in response to a letter from Deleuze in which he apparently asked: &rdquo\;What distinguishes the One from Spinoza&rsquo\;s substance?&rdquo\; (2012: 393). Laruelle humorously adopts Spinoza&rsquo\;s style to argue that the non-philosophical One\, in a very particular sense\, has nothing to do with the philosophical One(-All). Yet given the several-year-long exchange\, the relation between Deleuze and Laruelle requires a more careful inquiry. The aim of this special issue is not only to take a fresh look at the critical relations between Deleuze\, Guattari\, and Laruelle\, but also to engage with their oeuvres in a way that brings new light to the problems that their respective (non-)philosophical projects sought to answer and that\, in answering them\, posed anew\, calling for further reflection.
\nGiven what Deleuze and Guattari make of &ldquo\;nonphilosophy&rdquo\; and its position vis-à\;-vis philosophy in What Is Philosophy?\, a more sustained critical reading of the relation between philosophy and non-philosophy is required. How would a specifically Deleuzian reading of the relation between philosophy and Laruell&rsquo\;s non-philosophy look like? How might philosophy\, &ldquo\;nonart&rdquo\;\, and &ldquo\;nonscience&rdquo\; relate on the basis of the particular relation that Deleuze and Guattari establish between &ldquo\;nonphilosophy&rdquo\; and philosophy?
\nThis special issue invites contributions that reflect on these questions\, but are not limited to them. Please send abstracts (300 words)\, together with short biographical notes (150 words\, including an ORCID number if available)\, to andrija.filipovic@fmk.edu.rs by December 25\, 2026. All authors will receive responses by January 15\, 2027\, after which further details will be circulated to authors whose proposals have been accepted.
\nReferences
\nDeleuze\, Gilles and Fé\;lix Guattari (2009) What Is Philosophy?\, trans. Hugh Tomlison and Graham Burchill\, London and New York: Verso.
Laruelle\, Franç\;ois (2012) &ldquo\;Letter to Deleuze&rdquo\;\, in Franç\;ois Laruelle\, From Decision to Heresy: Experiments in Non-Standard Thought\, trans. Robin Mackay\, Windsor Quarry: Urbanomic\, pp. 393-400.
Laruelle\, Franç\;ois (2013) Philosophy and Non-Philosophy\, trans. Taylor Adkins\, Minneapolis: Univocal.