Books by Jeffrey A. Bell

This book offers the first extended comparison of the philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and David Hume. Jeffrey Bell argues that Deleuze's early work on Hume was instrumental to Deleuze's formulation of the problems and concepts that would remain a focus of his entire corpus. Reading Deleuze's work in light of Hume's influence, along with a comparison of Deleuze's work with William James, Henri Bergson, and others, sets the stage for a vigorous defence of his philosophy against a number of recent criticisms, and it extends the field of Deleuze studies by showing how Deleuze's thought can clarify and contribute to the work being done in political theory, cultural studies and history, particularly the history of the Scottish Enlightenment. By engaging Deleuze's thought with the work of Hume, this book clarifies and supports the work of Deleuze and exemplifies the continuing relevance of Hume's thought to a number of contemporary debates. Jeffrey Bell is a Professor of Philosophy at Southeastern Louisiana University. His research interests include continental philosophy, the history of philosophy, and the philosophy of history and culture. In addition to numerous essays on these subjects, his published books include Philosophy at the Edge of Chaos: Gilles Deleuze and the Philosophy of Difference and The Problem of Difference: Phenomenology and Poststructuralism.

In their final collaborative work, Deleuze and Guattari set out to address the question, 'what is philosophy?' Their answer is simple enough: philosophy 'is the art of forming, inventing and fabricating concepts'. In this book, Jeffrey A. Bell explores what that involves. Crucial to Deleuze and Guattari's understanding of this task, Bell argues, is the assumption that philosophy is integral to a life well lived. Bell shows that a concept of learning is created through the course of the text, composed of three inseparable components: philosophy, science and art. Ultimately, What is Philosophy? can be understood as a meditation on a life well lived, with this concept of learning at its core.

This book presents an age of nationalism, imperialism, modernization, industrialism, and great cultural achievement, stretching from 1800, when Europe was awash in the wake of the French Revolution, the reign of terror, and the coming rise of Napoleon, to Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination in 1914.

Jeffrey A. Bell here presents a finely constructed survey of the contemporary continental philosophers, focusing on how they have dealt with the problem of difference.