DOI: 10.4231/xdf2-mg11
title: Leibniz and the Baroque, Lecture 9, 3 February 1987

description: &lt;p&gt;A series of lectures given by French philosopher Gilles Deleuze at the University of Paris 8. This ninth lecture is organized within a 20-lecture seminar that Deleuze taught between October 1986 and June 1987, presented on February 3, 1987.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Following the previous, hybrid class (half Deleuze and half invited lecturer, Marcel Maarek), this session marks the mid-point of the academic year and provides groundwork to develop discussion after the February semester break. The session begins in mid-sentence with Deleuze speaking prior to the actual start of class, and then he returns to the very definition of the Baroque, providing several complementary perspectives on &ldquo;the fold,&rdquo; notably Pierre Boulez, Heidegger, and especially Mallarm&eacute;&rsquo;s poetics of the fold. Then, following on Maarek&rsquo;s presentation, Deleuze returns to the singularity, compossibility, moving on to divine creation, propositions of existence and propositions of essence, and to the concept of &ldquo;the Best&rdquo; in God&rsquo;s choices. Then, Deleuze makes the important turn toward the importance of the material body&rsquo;s link to the individual&rsquo;s clear expression. Hence, he is developing the distinction between two kinds of notions, individual notions of existence or monads, and simple notions of essence, or requisites, a distinction that offers an entry to the question of freedom in Leibniz. This question prepares the ground for considering the soul&rsquo;s amplitude in exercising such freedom, that Deleuze briefly addresses here and to which he returns after the winter break.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;This dataset includes one .mp3 audio file of the original recorded lecture and the complete French transcription and English translation in odt format.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;--&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Les S&eacute;minaires de Deleuze sont une collection d&#39;enregistrements audio, de transcriptions et de traductions en anglais et de documents compl&eacute;mentaires des conf&eacute;rences que le philosophe fran&ccedil;ais Gilles Deleuze a donn&eacute; lors de sa carri&egrave;re &agrave; l&#39;Universit&eacute; de Paris 8.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;A la suite de la s&eacute;ance hybride due 27 janvier (moiti&eacute; Deleuze, moiti&eacute; conf&eacute;rencier invit&eacute;, Marcel Maarek), cette s&eacute;ance marque le mi-point de l&rsquo;ann&eacute;e scolaire et pr&eacute;pare les bases pour d&eacute;velopper la discussion apr&egrave;s le cong&eacute; de f&eacute;vrier. La s&eacute;ance commence avec Deleuze en medias res, avant le vrai d&eacute;but de la s&eacute;ance. Deleuze s&#39;adresse surtout &agrave; l&rsquo;importance du lien du corps mat&eacute;riel avec l&rsquo;expression claire de l&rsquo;individu. Il d&eacute;veloppe ainsi la distinction entre deux sortes de notions, les notions individuelles d&rsquo;existence ou monades, et les notions simples d&rsquo;essence ou de r&eacute;quisites, distinction qui ouvre la voie &agrave; la question de la libert&eacute; chez Leibniz. Cette question pr&eacute;pare le terrain pour consid&eacute;rer l&rsquo;amplitude de l&rsquo;&acirc;me dans l&rsquo;exercice de cette libert&eacute;, que Deleuze aborde bri&egrave;vement ici et sur laquelle il revient apr&egrave;s le cong&eacute; de f&eacute;vrier.&lt;/p&gt;
description: Seminar of 20 sessions given by French philosopher Gilles Deleuze at Paris 8-St. Denis University, October 28, 1986, to June 2, 1987, Deleuze’s final seminar in his career. This ninth session was presented on February 3, 1987.