The Poverty of Philosophy: Readings in Non and Other Philosophies and Arts of Imminence kicks off with an 8,000 word overture, "Poverty of Philosophy" introducing non-philosophy and its progenitor, Francois Laruelle, his inspirations by, rapports and connections with other 'philosophers of immanence' (Nietzsche, Henry, Deleuze, Derrida...) as well as exploring, and also drawing some conclusions as to the possibilities of its present, and/or feasible impact on culture, politics and the arts, there follows the Anthology of NON, and other Philosophies and Arts of Immanence, comprised of some 300 excerpts from some 140 published sources, many signed by Laruelle, and many of the others by French, Anglophone, as well as Eastern European writers, artists, philosophers, scholars, critics and thinkers who extend his insights in the various domains of human endeavor. Very often translated from the French, and frequently commented, these excerpts are arranged alphabetically under 88 topics, from Actor to World, the complete list of them following my introduction, in a table of contents keyed to page #'s for each of them. Following are close readings in Beitchman's five review essays, two of works of Laruelle, and of three by scholars here very much in his wake: "The Machinery of Control (Sophie Lesueur, "Pensee machine et ordre politique")"; "Universe, World, Philo-Fiction and Non-Action in Non-philosophy (Francois Laruelle, Tetralogos: )"; "Ecology, Sacred and Profane (Francois Laruelle, En derniere humanite la nouvelle science ecologique)"; "The Philo-Fictions of Katerina Kolozova (Cut of the Real and 5 other works)"; "A Leap through Language: Non-Philosophy, Science and the Arts (Serguei Khoruzhiy, "La non-philosophie de Francois Laruelle entre le Charybde de la transraison et le Scylla du scientisme")." These essays provide a synoptic overview of non-philosophy from its inception to its latest non-standard philosophy avatar. Generally Beitchman's focus is on language and vocabulary, and their associated arts, principally literary and performing--and on the way terms like World, Universe, Superposition and Philo-fiction are deployed, defined, re-defined or refused definition; also how modern science, once fractals, now more Quantum and Wave theory, in concert with these imponderables, expands the horizon of the thinkable, conceivable and above all the feasible.
Philip Beitchman is professor of world literature at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York.
"This book offers a systematic explanation of the work of Francois Laruelle in immersion in and with contemporary philosophical and artistic culture and its uses of the 'no', a setting in degrowth of philosophy that allows Laruelle to open new spaces for thought".--Anne-Francoise Schmid, "Archives Poincare"; Co-director (with Laruelle) of the Organisation Non-Philosophique Internationale "Part introduction, part anthology, part critical reflection, Beitchman's novel constellation of materials demonstrates the saliency of non-philosophy."--Jonathan Fardy, associate professor of art history, Idaho State University
