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 Introduction

The purpose of this book is to introduce a novel approach to social

ontology. Like any other ontological investigation it concerns itself with
the question of what kinds of entities we can legitimately commit
ourselves to assert exist. The ontological stance taken here has
traditionally been labelled 'realist': a stance usually defined by a
commitment to the mind-independent existence of reality. In the case
of social ontology, however, this definition must be qualified because
most social entities, from small communities to large nation-states, would
disappear altogether if human minds ceased to exist. In this sense social
entities are clearly not mind-independent. Hence, a realist approach to
social ontology must assert the autonomy of social entities from the
conceptions we have of them. To say that social entities have a reality that
is conception-independent is simply to assert that the theories, models
and classifications we use to study them may be objectively wrong, that
is, that they may fail to capture the real history and internal dynamics of
those entities.
There are, however, important cases in which the very models and
classifications social scientists use affect the behaviour of the entities
being studied. Political or medical classifications using categories like
'female refugee' or 'hyperactive child', for example, may interact with the
people being classified if they become aware of the fact that they are
being so classified. In the first case, a woman fleeing terrible conditions in
her home country may become aware of the criteria to classify 'female
refugees' used by the country to which she wants to emigrate, and
change her behaviour to fit that criteria. In this case, an ontological
 INTRODUCTION
A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIETY

other social entltIes is treated as conceptjon-independent. This realist

commitment to the referent of the term 'female refugee' would be hard to solution is diametrically opposed to the idealist one espoused by
maintain, since the very use of the term may be creating its own phenomenologically influenced sociologists, the so-called 'social con­
referents. On the other hand, accepting that the referents of some general structivists'. In fact. as Hacking points out, these sociologists use the term
terms may in fact be moving targets does not undermine social realism: to 'construction' in a purely metaphorical sense, ignoring 'its literal
explain the case of the female refugee one has to invoke, in addition to meaning, that of building or assembling from parts'.2 By contrast, the
her awareness of the meaning of the term 'female refugee', the objective realist social ontology to be defended in this book is all about objective
existence of a whole set of institutional organizations (courts, immigra­ processes of assembly: a wide range of social entities, from persons to
tion agencies, airports and seaports, detention centres), institutional nation-states, will be treated as assemblages constructed through very
norms and objects (laws, binding court decisions, passports) and specifiC historical processes, processes in which language plays an
institutional practices (confining, monitoring, interrogating), forming important but not a constitutive role_
the context in which the interactions between categories and their A theory of assemblages, and of the processes that create and stabilize
referents take place. In other words, the problem for a realist social their historical identity, was created by the philosopher Gilles DeJeuze in
ontology arises here not because the meanings of all general terms shape the last decades of the twentieth century. This theory was meant to apply
the very perception that social scientists have of their referents, creating a to a wide variety of wholes constructed from heterogeneous parts.
vicious circle, but only in some special cases and in the context of Entities ranging from atoms and molecules to biological organisms,
institutions and practices that are not reducible to meanings. As the species and ecosystems may be usefully treated as assemblages and
philosopher Ian Hacking writes: therefore as entities that are products of historical processes. This implies,
of course, that one uses the term 'historical' to include cosmological and
I do not necessarily mean that hyperactive children, as individuals, on evolutionary history, not only human history. Assemblage theory may
their own, become aware of how they are classified, and thus react to also be applied to social entities, but the very fact that it cuts across the
the classification. Of course they may, but the interaction occurs in the nature-culture divide is evidence of its realist credentials. It may be
larger matrix of institutions and practices surrounding this classifica­ objected, however, that the relatively few pages dedicated to assemblage
tion. There was a time when children described as hyperactive were theory in the work of Deleuze (much of it in partnership with Felix
placed in 'stirn-free' classrooms: classrooms in which stimuli were Guattari) hardly amouiJt to a fully-fledged theory.3 And this is, in fact.
minimized, so that children would have no occasion for excess correct. But the concepts used to specify the characteristics of assemblages
activity. Desks were far apart. The walls had no decoration. The in those few pages (concepts such as 'expression' or 'territorialization')
windows were curtained. The teacher wore a plain black dress with no are highly elaborated and connected to yet other concepts throughout
ornaments. The walls were designed for minimum noise reflection. Deleuze's work. Taking into account the entire network of ideas within
The classification hyperactive did not interact with the children simply which the concept of 'assemblage' performs its conceptual duties, we do
because individual children had heard the word and changed have at least the rudiments of a theory. But this, in turn, raises another
accordingly. It interacted with those who were so described in difficulty. The definitions of the concepts used to characterize assemblages
institutions and practices that were predicated upon classifying are dispersed throughout Deleuze's work: part of a definition may be in
children that way.! one book, extended somewhere else, and qualified later in some obscure
essay. Even in those cases where conceptual definitions are easy to locate,
In short, acknowledging the existence of troublesome cases in which they are usually not given in a style that allows for a straightforward
the meanings of words affect their own referents in no way compromises interpretation, This would seem to condemn a book on assemblage
a realist approach to institutions and practices. On the contrary, a correct theory to spend most of its pages doing hermeneutics.
solution to this problem seems to demand an ontology in which the To sidestep this difficulty I have elsewhere reconstructed the whole of
existence of institutional organizations, interpersonal networks and many
3
2
 A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIETY INTRODUCTION

Deleuzian ontology, including those parts that bear directly on as a mere aggregate, that is, as a whole without properties that are more
assemblage theory, in a clear, analytic style that makes a preoccupation than the sum of its parts. For this reason we may refer to these solutions
with what Deleuze 'really meant' almost completdy unnecessary.4 In this to the micro-macro problem as 'micro-reductionist'.
book I will make use of a similar strategy: I will give my own definitions The other position that has been historicaJIy adopted towards the
of the technical terms, use my own arguments 10 justify them, and use micro-macro problem is that social strw:.ture is what really exists,
entirely different theoretical resources to develop them. This manreuvre individual persons being mere products of the society in which they are
will not completely eliminate the need to engage in Deleuzian born. The young Durkheim, the older Marx, and functionalists such as
hermeneutics but it will allow me to confine that part of the job 10 Talcott Parsons are examples of this stance. These authors do not deny the
footnotes. Readers who fee! that the theory devdoped here is not strictly existence of individual persons but assume that once they have been
speaking Deleuze's own arc welcome to call it 'neo-assemblage theory', socialized by the family and the school. they have so internalized the
'assemblage theory 2.0', or some other name. values of the societies or the social classes to which they belong that their
The first two chapters of this book introduce the fundamental ideas of allegiance to a given social order may be taken for granted. This tends 10
sllch a reconstructed theory of assemblages. This theory must, first of alL make the micro-level a mere epiphenomenon and for this reason this
account for the synthesis of the properties of a whole not reducible to its stance may be labelled 'macro-reductionist'. There are many other
parts. In this synthetic function assemblage theory has rivals that are positions taken in social science towards the problem of the articulation of
historically much older, such as Hegelian dialectics. Thus, an important the micro and the macro, including making an intermediate level. such as
task, one to be carried out in Chapter I, is to contrast assemblages and praxis, the true core of social reality, with both individual agency and
Hegelian totalities. The main difference is that in assemblage theory the social structure being byproducts of this fundamental level. This seems to
fact that a whole possess synthetic or emergent properties does not be the stance taken by such prominent contemporary sociologists as
preclude the possibility of analysis. In other words, unlike organic Anthony Giddens, a stance that may be labelled 'meso-reductionist,.5
totalities, the parts of an assemblage do not form a seamless whole. In These three reductionist positions do not, of course, exhaust the
Chapter 2 I will argue that once historical processes arc used to explain possibilities. There arc many social scientists whose work focuses on social
the synthesis of inorganic, organic and social assemblages there is no need entities that arc neither micro nor macro: Erving Goffman's work on
for essentialism to account for their enduring identities. This allows conversations and other social encounters; Max Weber's work on
assemblage theory to avoid one of the main shortcomings of other forms institutional organizations; Charles TiIIy's work on social justice move­
of social realism: an ontological commitment to the existence of essences. ments; not to mention the large number of sociologists working on the
Once the basic ideas have been laid out, the next three chapters apply theory of social networks, or the geographers studying cities and regions.
the assemblage approach to a concrete case-study: the problem of the link What the work of these authors reveals is a large number of intermediate
between the micro- and the macro-levels of social reality. Traditionally, levels between the micro and the macro, the ontological status of which
this problem has been framed in reductionist terms. Reductionism in has not been properly conceptualized. Assemblage theory can provide the
social science is often illustrated with the methodological individualism framework in which the contributions of these and other authors
characteristic of microeconomics, in which all that matters are rational (including the work of those holding reductionist stances) may be
decisions made by individual persons in isolation from one another. But properly located and the connections bet ween them fully elucidated. This
the phenomenological individualism of social constructivism is also is because assemblages, being wholes whose properties emerge from the
reductionist even though its conception of the micro-level is not based on interactions between parts, can be used to model any of these
individual rationality but on the routines and categories that structure intermediate entities: interpersonal networks and institutional organiza­
individual experience. In neither one of these individualisms is there a tions arc assemblages of people; social justice movements are assemblages
denial that there exists, in addition to rationality or experience, of several networked communities; central governments are assemblages
something like 'society as a whole'. But such an entity is conceptualized of several organizations; cities are assemblages of people, networks.
4 5
 A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIETY INTRODUCTION

organizations, as well as of a variety of infrastructural components, from sense, not the geometric one, that I use the expression 'larger-scale'. Two
buildings and streets to conduits for matter and energy nows; nation­ interpersonal networks, for example, will be compared in scale by the
states are assemblages of cities, the geographical regions organized by number of members they contain not by the extem of the geographical
cities, and the provinces that several such regions form. area they occupy, so that a network structuring a local community will be
Chapters 3, 4 and 5 take the reader on a journey that starting at the said to be larger than one linking geographically dispersed friends if it has
personal (and even subpersonal) scale, climbs up one scale at a time all more members, regardless of the fact that the latter may span the entire
way to territorial states and beyond. It is only by experiencing this upward planet. Also, being larger in only one of the properties differentiating the
movement the movement that in reality generates all these emergent social entities to be discussed here. There are many others properties
wholes, that a reader can get a sense of the irreducible social complexity (such as the density of the connections in a network, or the degree of
characterizing the contemporary world. This does not imply that centralization of authority in an organization) that are not extensive but
ontological scheme proposed here is not applicable to simpler or intensive, and that are equally important. Finally, social entities will be
societies: it can be used in truncated form to apply it to societies without characterized in this book not only by their properties but also by their
cities or large central governments, for example. I make, on the other hand, capacities, that is, by what they are capable of doing when they interact
no effort to be multicultural: all my examples come from either Europe or with other social entities.
the USA. This simply reflects my belief that some of the properties of s To those readers who may be disappointed by the lack of cross-cultural
assemblages, such as interpersonal networks or institutional organizations, comparisons, or the absence of detailed analyses of social mechanisms, or
remain approximately invariant across different cultures. But even the poverty of the historical vignettes, I can only say that none of these
illustrations from Western nations are often sketchy and, with worthy tasks can be really carried out within an impoverished ontological
exception of Chapter 5, the historical aspects of my examples are not framework. When social scientists pretend to be able to perform these
explored. This shortcoming is justified by the fact that my older publications. tasks without ontological foundations, they are typically using an
have already engaged history and historical dynamics, and that in this book implicit, and thereby uncritically accepted, ontology. There is simply no
I am exclusively interested in a clarification of the ontological status of the way out of this dilemma. Thus, while philosophers cannot, and should
entities that are the a<.1ors of my earlier historical narratives. 6 The shortage not, pretend to do the work of social scientists for them, they can greatly
of historical examples is also intended to reduce the time the reader spends contribute to the job of ontological clarification. This is the task that this
at each level of scale, that is, to increase the speed of the upward book attempts to perform.
movement, since for this book it is the reader's experience of the journey
from the micro to the macro that matters the most. It is my hope that once Manuel DeLanda
the complexity of that forgotten territory between the micro and the macro New York, 2005
is grasped at visceral level, the intellectual habit to privilege one or the
other extreme will become easier to break.
On the other hand, a solution to the micro-macro problem in terms of
a multiplicity of social entities operating at intermediate levels of scale
calls for a few words to clarify the meaning of the expression 'Iarger­
scale'. Its usual meaning is geometric, as when when one says that a
street is the longest one in a city, or that one nation-state occupies a larger
area than another. But there is also a physical meaning of the expression
that goes beyond geometry. In physics, for example, length, area and
volume are classified as extensive properties, a category that also includes
amount of energy and number of components. It is in this latter extensive
6 7
 . ASSEMBLAGES AGAINST TOTALITIES

1 Cicero, Livy, Seneca, and Paul. In the Middle Ages elaborate

anthropomorphic analogies were drawn by John of Salisbury and
Assemblages against Totalities Nicholas of Cues. In the early modern period, Hobbes and Rousseau
contrasted the organism and the state, holding that the organism was
the product of nature while the state was an artificial creation. In the
late eighteenth and early nineteenth century fanciful notions of the
social and political organism appeared with such writers as Hegel,
Schelling, Krause, Ahrens, Schmitthenner, and Waitz. l

In the late nineteenth century the organismiC metaphor achieved its

first systematic development in the work of Herbert Spencer and reached
its pinnacle of influence a few decades later in the work of Talcott
Parsons, the most important figure of the functionalist school of
sociology. After this, the use of the organism as a metaphor declined as
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the theory of assemblages. sociologists rejected functionalism, some because of its emphasis on social
this introduction is not meant as an end in itself, but as a means integration and its disregard for conflict, others because of its focus on
elucidate the proper ontological status of the entities that are invoked social structure at the expense of phenomenological experience. But a
more sophisticated form of the basic metaphor still exerts considerable
sociologists and other social sdentists. Is there, for example, such a
as society as a whole? Is the commitment to assert the existence of influence in most schools of SOCiology, and in this form it is much more
an entity legitimate? And, is denying the reality of such an difficult to eliminate. This version involves not an analogy but a general
equivalent to a commitment to the existence of only individual per~"n" theory about the relations between parts and wholes, wholes that
constitute a seamless totality or that display an organic unity. The basic
and their families? The answer to all these questions is a definitive no,
concept in this theory is what we may call relations of imeriority: the
several obstacles must be removed before justifying this
component parts are constituted by the very relations they have to other
response. Of all the obstacles standing in the way of an adequate
parts in the whole. A part detached from such a whole ceases to be what it
ontology none is as entrenched as the organismic metaphor. In its
is, since being this particular part is one of its constitutive properties. A
sophisticated form this stumbling-block involves making a
whole in which the component parts are self-subsistent and their
analogy between society and the human body, and to postulate that
relations are external to each other does not possess an organic unity.
as bodily organs work together for the organism as a whole, so
As Hegel wrote: 'This is what constitutes the character of mechanism,
function of social institutions is to work in harmony for the bendit
namely, that whatever relation obtains between the things combined,
society. As historians of social thought Howard Becker and Harry
this relation is extraneous to them that does not concern their nature at all,
have noted, there arc many variants of this centuries-old metaphoL
and even if it is accompanied by a semblance of unity it remains nothing
more sophisticated than others:
more than composition, mixture, aggregation, and the Iike: 2
Thus, in this conception wholes possess an inextricable unity in which
The theory of the resemblance between classes, groups, and lII~lIlU-_
there is a strict reciprocal determination between parts. This version of
tions in society and the organs of the individual is as old as
organismic theory is much harder to eliminate because it is not just a
theory itself. We have already noted its presence in Hindu
matter of rejecting an old worn-out image and because its impact on
thought and have also called attention to the fact that Aristotle,
sociology goes beyond functionalism. A good contemporary example is
book IV of his Politics, sets forth this organismic analogy with precisi"....
the work of the influential sociologist Anthony Giddens, who attempts to
and clarity. The same conception appears clearly in the writings
8
 A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIETY
ASSEMBLAGES AGAINST TOTALITIES

transcend the duality of agency and structure by arguing for their words, the exteriority of relations implies a certain autonomy for the
constitution: agency is constituted by its involvement in practice terms they relate, or as Deleuze puts it, it implies that 'a relation may
in turn, reproduces structure. Structure is conceived as consisting change without the terms changing'? Relations of exteriority also imply
behavioural procedures and routines, and of material and that the properties of the component parts can never explain the relations
resources, neither one of which possesses a separate existence outside which constitute a whole, that is, 'relations do not have as their ('a uses
their instamiation in actual practice. 3 In turn, the practices the properties of the [component partsJ between whkh they are
instantiate rules and mobilize resources are conceived by Giddens as established .. :8 although they may be caused by the exerdse of a
cominuous flow of action 'not composed of an aggregate or series component's capacities. In fact, the reason why the properties of a whole
separate intemions, reasons, and motives'.4 The end result of this is cannot be reduced to those of its parts is that they are the result not of an
seamless whole in which agency and structure mutually constitute aggregation of the components' own properties but of the actual exercise
another dialectically. 5 of their capacities. These capacities do depend on a component's
Following Hegel, other defenders of this approach argue that properties but cannot be reduced to them since they involve referen('e
relations of interiority a whole cannot have emergent to the properties of other interacting entities. Relations of exteriority
becoming a mere aggregation of the properties of its components. guarantee that assemblages may be taken apart while at the same time
may be argued, however, that a whole may be both analysable allowing that the interactions between parts may result in a true
separate parts and at the same time have irreducible properties, properti synthesis.
that emerge from the interactions between parts. As the philosopher While those favouring the interiority of relations tend to use
science Mario Bunge remarks, the 'possibility of analysis does not organisms as their prime example, Deleuze gravitates towards other
redu('tion, and explanation of the mechanisms of emergence does kinds of biological illustrations, such as the symbiosis of plants and
explain emergence away'.6 Allowing the possibility of complex in pollinating insects. In this case we have relations of exteriority between
tions between component parts is crucial to define mechanisms self-subsistent components su('h as the wasp and the orchid relations
emergence, but this possibility disappears if the parts are fused which may become obligatory in the murse of coevolution. This
imo a seamless web. Thus, what needs to be ('hallenged is the very idea illustrates another differen('e between assemblages and totalities. A
relations of imeriority. We ('an distinguish, for example, the prop"rtip. seamless whole is incon('eivable except as a synthesis of these very parts,
defining a given emity from its capacities to interact with other en that is, the linkages between its ('omponents form logically necessary
While its properties are given and may be denumerable as a dosed list, relations whkh make the whole what it is. But in an assemblage these
capacities are not given - they may go unexercised if no entity suitable relations may be only contingently obligatory. While logically necessary
interaction is around - and form a potentially open list, sin('e there is relations may be investigated by thought alone, contingently obligatory
way to tell in advan('e in what way a given entity may affect or be aff ones involve a consideration of empirkal questions, su('h as the
by innumerable other entities. In this other view, being part of a coevolutionary history of two species. In addition to this Deleuze
involves the exercise of a part's ('apacities but it is not a considers heterogeneity of components an important characteristic of
property of it. And given that an unexercised capadty does not assemblages. Thus, he would mnsider ecosystems as assemblages of
what a component is, a pan may be deta('hed from the whole thousands of different plant and animal species, but not the species
preserving its identity. themselves, since natural selection tends to homogenize their gene pools.
Today, the main theoretical alternative to organic totalities is what In what follows I will not take heterogeneity as a constant property of
philosopher Gilles Deleuze ('ails assemblages, wholes ('hara('terized assemblages but as a variable that may take different values. This will
relations of exteriority. These relations imply, first of all, that a mmponen" allow me to consider not only species but also biological organisms as
part of an assemblage may be detached from it and plugged into assemblages, instead of having to introduce another category for them as
different assemblage in which its intera('tions are different. In does Deleuze. 9 Con('eiving an organism as an assemblage implies that
10 11
 A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIETY ASSEMBLAGES AGAINST TOTALITIES

despite the tight integration between its component organs, the relations These are nonlinguistic social expressions which matter from the point of
between them are not logically necessary but only contingently view of a person's reputation (or the image he or she tries to project in
obligatory: a historical result of their close coevolution. In this way conversations) as much as what the person expresses linguistically.
assemblage theory deprives organismic theories of their most cherished Similarly, an important component of an interpersonal network is the
exemplar. expressions of solidarity of its members, but these can be either linguistic
In addition to the exteriority of relations, the concept of assemblage is (promises, vows) or behavioural, the solidarity expressed by shared
defined along two dimensions. One dimension or axis defines the variable sacrifice or mutual help even in the absence of words. Hierarchical
roles which an assemblage's components may play. from a purely material organizations, in turn, depend on expressions of legitimacy, which may
role at one extreme of the axis, to a purely expressive role at the other be embodied linguistically (in the form of beliefs about the sources of
extreme. These roles are variable and may occur in mixtures. that is, a authority) or in the behaviour of their members, in the sense that the
given component may playa mixture of material and expressive roles by very act of obeying commands in public, in the absence of physical
exercising different sets of capacities. The other dimension defines coercion, expresses acceptance of legitimate authority.!l
variable processes in which these components become involved and that The concept of territorialization must be first of all understood literally.
either slabilize the identity of an assemblage, by increasing its degree of Face-to-face conversations always occur in a particular place (a street­
internal homogeneity or the degree of sharpness of its boundaries, or comer, a pub, a church). and once the participants have ratified one
destabilize it. The former are referred to as processes of territorialization another a conversation acquires well-defined spatial boundaries. Simi­
and the latter as processes of deterritorialization. iO One and the same larly, many interpersonal networks define communities inhabiting spatial
assemblage can have components working to stabilize its identity as well territories, whether ethnic neighbourhoods or small towns. with well­
as components forcing it to change or even transforming it into a different defined borders. Organizations, in tum, usually operate in particular
assemblage. In face one and the same component may participate in both buildings, and the jurisdiction of their legitimate authority usually
processes by exercising different sets of capacities. Let me give some coincides with the physical boundaries of those buildings. The exceptions
simple social examples of these four variables. arc governmental organizations, but in this case too their jurisdictional
The components of social assemblages playing a material role vary boundaries tend to be geographical: the borders of a town, a province or a
widely, but at the very least involve a set of human bodies properly whole country. So, in the first place. processes of territorialization are
oriented (physically or psychologically) towards each other. The classic processes that define or sharpen the spatial boundaries of actual
example of these assemblages of bodies is face-to-face conversations, but territories. Territorialization, on the other hand, also refers to non-spatial
the interpersonal networks that structure communities, as well as the processes which increase the internal homogeneity of an assemblage,
hierarchical organizations that govern cities or nalion-states, can also such as the sorting processes which exclude a certain category of people
serve as illustrations. Community networks and institutional organiza­ from membership of an organization, or the segregation processes which
tions are assemblages of bodies. but they also possess a variety of other increase the ethnic or racial homogeneity of a neighbourhood. Any
material components. from food and physical labour, to simple tools and process which either destabilizes spatial boundaries or increases internal
complex machines, to the buildings and neighbourhoods serving as their heterogeneity is considered deterritorializing. A good example is com­
physical locales. Illustrating the components playing an expressive role munication technology, ranging from writing and a reliable postal
needs some elaboration because in assemblage theory expressivity cannot service, to telegraphs, telephones and computers, all of which blur the
be reduced to language and symbols. A main component of conversations spatial boundaries of social entities by eliminating the need for co­
is, of course, the content of the talk. but there are also many forms of presence: they enable conversations to take place at a distance, allow
bodily expression (posture, dress, facial gestures) that are not linguistic. In interpersonal networks to form via regular correspondence, phone calls
addition, there is what participants express about themselves not by what or computer communications, and give organizations the means to
they say but by the way they say it or even by their very choice of topic. operate in different countries at the same time.
12 13
 A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIETY
ASSEMBLAGES AGAINST TOTALITIES

While the decomposition of an assemblage into its different parts, and

linked to spatial relations of contiguity, linguistic vocalizations display a
the assignment of a material or expressive role to each component,
temporal linearity that endows its information patterns with an even
exemplifies the analytic side of the approach, the concept of territor­
greater autonomy from their material carrier. 13 These two specialized
ialization plays a synthetic role, since it is in part through the more or less
lines of expression must be considered assemblages in their own right.
permanent articulations produced by this process that a whole emerges
Like all assemblages they exhibit a part-to-whole relation: genes are made
from its parts and maintains its identity once it has emerged. But there is
up of linear sequences of nucleotides, and are the component parts of
another synthetic process in assemblage theory that complements
chromosomes; words are made of linear sequences of phonetic sounds or
territorialization: the role played in the production and maintenance of
written letters, and are the component parts of sentences. Some of these
identity by specialized expressive entities such as genes and words.
component parts play a material role, a physical substratum for the
Although Deleuze considers all entities, even nonbiological and nonsocial
information, and through elaborate mechanisms this information can be
ones, as being capable of expression, he argues that the historical
expressed as proteins, in the case of genetic materials, or as meanings, in
appearance of these specialized entities allowed a great complexification
the case of linguistic ones. 14
of the kinds of wholes that could be assembled in this planet. Let me
In assemblage theory, these two specialized expressive media are
elaborate this point starting with the idea that physical or chemical
viewed as the basis for a second synthetic process. While territorialization
entities are capable of expression. When atoms interact with radiation
provides a first articulation of the components, the coding performed by
their internal structure creates patterns in this radiation through the
genes or words supplies a second articulation, consolidating the effects of
selective absorption of some of its wavelengths. In manmade photographs
the first and further stabilizing the identity of assemblagesY Biological
this pattern appears as a spatial arrangement of light and dark bands (a
organisms are examples of assemblages synthesized through both
spectrograph) which is correlated in a unique way with the identity of the
territorialization and coding, but so are many social entities, such as
chemical species to which the atom belongs. In other words, the
hierarchical organizations. The coding process in the latter will vary
absorption pattern expresses the identity of the chemical species in the
depending on whether the source of legitimate authority in these
form of physical information which can be used by astrophysicists, for
hierarchies is traditional or rational-legal. as in modern bureaucracies. In
example, to identify the chemical elements present in a given celestial
process. 12 the former the coding is performed by narratives establishing the sacred
origins of authority, while in the latter it is effected by constitutions
On the other hand, this expressivity is clearly not functional in any
spelling out the rights and obligations associated with each formal role. It
sense. That is, while the information patterns do have an objective
is tempting to see in the fact that both biological organisms and some of
existence, in the absence of astrophysicists (or other users of spectro­
the most visible social institutions are doubly articulated, the source of
graphs) the patterns do not perform any function. These patterns may be
the appeal of the organismic metaphor: the isomorphism of the processes
compared to the fingerprints that are expressive of human organic
giving rise to some biological and social entities would explain their
identity, but that in the absence of a law-enforcement organization that
resemblance. On the other hand, this real resemblance should not license
collects them, stores them and retrieves them as part of a process of
the idea that 'society as a whole' is like an organism, since many social
identification, perform no real biological function at all. But, Deleuze
assemblages are not highly coded or highly territorialized.
argues, there have been critical thresholds in the history of the planet
In fact, in both the biological and the social realms there are
when physical expressivity has become functional. The first threshold is
processes of decoding, yielding assemblages which do not conform to the
the emergence of the genetic code, marking the point at which
organismic metaphor. In biology such decoding is illustrated by animal
information patterns ceased to depend on the full three-dimensional
behaviour which has ceased to be rigidly programmed by genes to be
structure of an entity (such as that of an atom) and became a separate
learned from experience in a more flexible way. This decoding produces,
one-dimensional structure, a long chain of nucleic acids. The second
for example, animal territories, the assemblages generated when
threshold is the emergence of language: while genetic linearity is still animals have gone beyond the passive expression of information
14
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 ASSEMBLAGES AGAINST TOTALITIES
A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIETY

interactions endow the populations with some properties of their own,

patterns (patterns of the fingerprint kind) actively to use a variety of
such as a certain rate of growth or certain average distributions of
means - from faeces and urine to song, colour and silhouette - as an
assemblage properties. The second question regards the possibility that
expression of their identity as owners of a particular geographical area. 16
within these collectivities larger assemblages may emerge of which the
A social example of the result of a process of decoding would be informal
members of the population are the component parts. In other words, the
conversations between friends. As social assemblages, conversations do
interactions between members of a collectivity may lead to the formation
not have the same durability of either interpersonal networks or
of more or less permanent articulations between them yielding a macro­
institutional organizations, and no one would feel tempted to compare
assemblage with properties and capacities of its own. Since the processes
them to organisms. But they do involve rules, such as those governing
behind the formation of these enduring articulations are themselves
turn-taking. The more formal and rigid the rules, the more these social
recurrent. a population of larger assemblages will be created leading to
encounters may be said to be coded. But in some circumstances these
the possibility of even larger ones emerging.
rules may be weakened giving rise to assemblages in which the The combination of recurrence of the same assembly processes at any
participants have more room to express their convictions and their
one spatial scale, and the recurrence of the same kind of assembly
own personal styles. 17
processes (territorialization and coding) at successive scales, gives
Nevertheless, and despite the importance of genetic and linguist.ic
assemblage theory a unique way of approaching the problem of linking
components for the consolidation of the identity of biological and social
the micro- and macro-levels of social reality. The bulk of this book will be
assemblages, it is crucial not to conceptualize their links to other
spent giving concrete examples of how we can bridge the level of
components as relations of interiority. In other words, the interactions
individual persons and that of the largest social entities (such as territorial
of genes with the rest of a body's machinery should not be viewed as if
states) through an embedding of assemblages in a succession of micro­
they constituted the defining essence of that machinery. And similarly for
and macro-scales. But at this point it will prove useful to give a simple
the interactions of language with subjective experience or with social
illustration. One advantage of the present approach is that it allows the
institutions. In an assemblage approach, genes and words are simply one
replacement of vaguely defined general entities (like 'the market' or 'the
more component entering into relations of exteriority with a variety of
state') with concrete assemblages. What would replace, for example, 'the
other material and expressive components, and the processes of coding
market' in an assemblage approach? Markets should be viewed, first of
and decoding based on these specialized lines of expression operate side by
all, as concrete organizations (that is, concrete market-places or bazaars)
side with nongenetic and nonlinguistic processes of territorialization and
and this fact makes them assemblages made out of people and the
deterrilorialization. To emphasize this point in the chapters that follow, I
material and expressive goods people exchange.
will always discuss language last and as a separate component. This will
In addition, as the economic historian Fernand Braudel argues, these
allow me to distinguish clearly those expressive components that are not
organizations must be located in a concrete physical locale, such as a
linguistic but which are mistakenly treated as if they were symbolic, as
small town and its surrounding countryside, a locale which should also be
well as to emphasize that language should be moved away from the core
considered a component of the assemblage. In these terms, the smallest
of the matter, a place that it has wrongly occupied for many decades now.
economic assemblage has always been, as Braudel says:
There are two more questions that must be discussed to complete the
characterization of the assemblage approach. The first regards the
a complex consisting of a small market town, perhaps the site of a fair.
processes of assembly though which physical. biological and social
with a cluster of dependent villages around it. Each village had to be
entities come into being, processes that must be conceptualized as
close enough to the town for it to be possible to go to the market and
recurrent. This implies that assemblages always exist in populations,
back in a day. But the actual dimensions of the unit would equally
however small. the populations generated by the repeated occurrence
depend on the available means of transport, the density of settlement
of the same processes. As the assemblages making up these collectivities 18
and the fertility of the area in question.
interact with one another, exercising a variety of capacities, these
17
16
 A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIETY

ASSEMBLAGES AGAINST TOTALITIES

Roughly, prior to the emergence of steam-driven transport. the average
size of these complexes varied between 160 and 170 square kilometres. In characterizes processes in which these components are involved:
the high Middle Ages, as European urbanization intensified, these local processes which stabilize or destabilize the identity of the assemblage
markets multiplied, generating a large population of similar assemblages. (territorialization and deterritorialization). In the version of assemblage
Then, some of the market-places belonging to these population were theory to be used in this book, a third dimension will be added: an extra
assembled together into regional markets, larger assemblages with an axis defining processes in which specialized expressive media intervene.
average area of 1. 500 to 1,700 square kilometres. Each such region processes which consolidate and rigidify the identity of the assemblage or,
typically exhibited a dominant city as its centre and a recognizable on the contrary, allow the assemblage a certain latitude for more flexible
cultural identity, both of which are parts of the larger assemblage. Next operation while benefiting from genetic or linguistic resources (processes
came provincial markets, with dimensions about ten times as large as the of coding and decoding).21 All of these processes are recurrent, and their
regional markets they assembled, but a lesser degree of internal variable repetition synthesizes entire populations of assemblages. Within
homogeneity.19 Finally, when several such provincial markets were these popUlations other synthetic processes, which may also be
stitched together, as they were in England in the eighteenth century, characterized as terrirorializations or codings but which typically involve
national markets emerged. entirely different mechanisms, generate larger-scale assemblages of
This brief description yields a very clear picture of a series of differently which some of the members of the original population become
scaled assemblages, some of which are component parts of others which, component parts.
in turn, become parts of even larger ones. Although I left out the To conclude this chapter I would like to add some detail to the
historical details behind the assembly of local market-places into regional description of the synthetic aspects of assemblage theory. In particular, to
markets, or those behind the creation of national markets, it is clear that speak of processes of territorialization and coding which may be
in each case there was a process through which larger entities emerged instantiated by a variety of mechanisms implies that we have an
from the assembly of smaller ones. As Braudel notes of national markets, adequate notion of what a mechanism is. In the case of inorganic and
they were 'a network of irregular weave, often constructed against all organic assemblages these mechanisms are largely causal, but they do not
odds: against the over-powerful cities with their own policies, against the necessarily involve linear causality, so the first task will be to expand the
provinces which resisted centralization, against foreign intervention notion of causality to include nonlinear mechanisms. Social assemblages,
which breached frontiers, not to mention the divergent interests of on the other hand, contain mechanisms which, in addition to causal
production and exchange'. 20 The situation is, indeed, even more complex interactions, involvt~ reasons and motives. So the second task will be to
because I am leaving out long-distance trade and the international show what role these subjective components play in the explanation of
markets to which this type of trade gave rise. But even this simplified the working of social assemblages. The first task is crucial because the
picture is already infinitely better than the reWed generality of 'the shortcomings of linear causality have often been used to justHy the belief
market'. in inextricable organic unities. In other words, the postulation of a world
Let me summarize the main features of assemblage theory. First of all. as a seamless web of reciprocal action, or as an integrated totality of
unlike wholes in which parts are linked by relations of interiority (that is, functional interdependencies, or as a block of unlimited universal
relations which constitute the very identity of the paris) assemblages are interconnections, has traditionally been made in opposition to linear
made up of parts which are self-subsistent and articulated by relations of causality as the glue holding together a mechanical world. Hence if
exteriority, so that a part may be detached and made a component of assemblages are to replace totalities the complex mechanisms behind the
another assemblage. Assemblages are characterized along two dimen­ synthesis of emergent properties must be properly elucidated.
sions: along the first dimension are specified the variable roles which In addition to supplying an excuse for the postulation of a block
component parts may play, from a purely material role to a purely universe, the formula for linear causality, 'Same cause, same effect.
expressive one. as well as mixtures of the two. A second dimension always', has had damaging effects on the very conception of the relations
18 between causes and effects. In particular, the resemblance of that formula
19
 A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIETY
ASSEMBLAGES AGAINST TOTALITIES

with the one for logical implication (,If C, then E necessarily') has misled challenged. Violating this second part, the part involving strict necessity,
many philosophers into thinking that the relation between a cause and its resull s in statistical causality, a form of causality that becomes important
effect is basically that the occurrence of the former implies that of the the moment we start to consider not single entities but large popUlations
latter. But if causality is to provide the basis for objective syntheses causal of such entities. Thus, when one says that. in a given population of
relations must be characterized as productive, that is, as a relation in which
one event (the cause) produces another event (the effect), not just
22
implies it. The events which are productively connected by causality
smokers, 'Smoking cigarettes causes cancer', the claim cannot be that one
repeated event (smoking) produces the same event (the onset of cancer)
in every single case. The genetic predispositions of the members of the
)
can be simple or atomistic events such as mechanical collisions. But population must also be taken into account, and this implies that the
causality may also connect complex entities, such as the component parts cause will produce its effect only in a high percentage of cases.
that make up a whole. In this case, while the entity itself cannot act as a Furthermore, statistical causality does not depend on the existence of
cause because it is not an event, a change in its ddining properties can be internal processes in the members of a population. It may also
a cause, since changes, even simple quantitative ones, are events. For the obtain without such internal organization given that, outside of
same reason, actions performed by a complex entity can also be causes. laboratory conditions, no series of events ever occurs in complete
Linear causality is typically defined in terms of atomistic events, but isolation from other series which may interfere with it. Thus. even if we
once we depart from these we must consider the role that the internal had a population of genetically identical humans, smoking would still not
organization of an entity may play in the way it is affected by an external always lead to the onset of cancer, since other activities (physical exercise,
cause. This internal organization may, for example, determine that an for example) may playa part in counteracting its effects. The most that
external cause of large intensity will produce a low-intensity effect (or no one can say about eXlernal causes in a population is that they increase the
effect at all) and vice versa, that small causes may have large effects. probability of the occurrence of a given effect. 25
These are cases of nonlinear causality, defined by thresholds below or It is dear that assemblage theory, in which assemblages can be
above which external causes fail to produce an effect. that is, thresholds component parts of other assemblages (leading to the internal organiza­
determining the capacities of an entity to be causally affected. In some tion behind nonlinear and catalytic causality), and in which assemblages
cases, this capacity to be affected may gain the upper hand to the point arc always the product of recurrent processes yielding populations
that external causes become mere triggers or cata~ysts for an effect. As (involving statistical causality), can accommodate these complex forms of
Bunge puts it, in this case 'extrinsic causes are efficient solely to the causal productivity. And in doing so it takes away the temptation to use
extent to which they take a grip on the proper nature and inner processes seamless-web imagery. For example, the idea that there arc reciprocal
of things'.23 Catalysis deeply violates linearity since it implies that forms of determination between parts can be accommodated via
different causes can lead to one and the same effect - as when a switch nonlinear mechanisms involving feedback (such as the negative feedback
from one internal state to another is triggered by different stimuli _ and characterizing thermostats), mechanisms that do not imply a fusion
that one and the same cause may produce very different effects between the parts of a whole. The chance encounters between
d('pending on the part of the whole it acts upon - as when hormones independent series of events at the source of statistical causality can also
stimulate growth when applied to the tips of a plant but inhibit it when contribute to eliminate totalities and the block universe they imply. As
applied to its rootS.24 It is important to emphasize, however, that to refer Bunge puts it:
to inner processes (or to an internal organization) does not imply that
nonlinear or catalytic interactions are examples of relations of interiority: A further test of the falsity of the doctrine of the block universe is the
inner processes are simply interactions between the component parts of existence of chance (that is, statistically determined) phenomena;
an entity and do not imply that these parts are mutually constituted. most of them arise from the comparative independence of different
These two depanures from linearity violate the first part of the formula emities, that is, out of their comparative reciprocal contingency or
('same cause. same effect'), but the second part ('always') may also be irrelevancy. The existence of mutually independent lines of evolution
20
21
 ASSEMBLAGES AGAINST TOTALITIES
A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIETY

IS 1Ilturn ensured by the attenuation of physical interactions with not signification in mind when he wrote about 'meaningfully compre­
distance, as well as their finite speed of propagation - the most hensible' social action is clear from the fact that he thought his method
worked best when applied to cases involving matching means to an end,
effective looseners of the tightness of the block universe. 26 3o
that is, social action involving choices and goals. Understanding or
making sense of such activities typically involves assessing the adequacy
The two roles that components play in an assemblage, material and
of the way in which a goal is pursued, or a problem solved, or the
expressive, are related to these different forms of causality. While
relevance or importance of a given step in the sequence. Some of these
material components indude the entire repertoire of causal interactions,
will be assessments of causal relevance when the sequence of actions
expressive ones typically involve catalysis. The odours, sounds or colours
involves interacting with material objects, as in the activities of black­
that territorial animals use as expressions of their identity, for example,
act only as triggers for behavioural responses in both rivals and potential smiths, carpenters or cooks. But even when it is not a matter of
interacting with the material world, judgements about goal-oriented
mates, both of which must possess complex nervous systems to be
linguistic performance will typically be about the adequacy of a line of
capable of being affected this way. This is also true of genes, many of
argument or the relevance of a piece of information, and not about
which code for enzymes that are highly effective and specific catalysts,
semantics. Means-to-ends matching is an example of social action that
although genes also code for proteins which playa material role, such as
being building-blocks for cellular membranes. Language, on the other demands motives as part of its explanation.
What about the case of social action involving reasons? Some
hand, typically plays a catalytic role which assumes that both speakers
examples of this type of social action may not involve semantic
and listeners have complex internal organizations. This internal order,
interpretation at all. These are the cases in which the weight of tradition
however, is only partially explained by material causes (such as
or the intensity of the feelings may be such that the social activities
possessing a nervous system) and implies more elaborate mechanisms.
involved may lie 'very close to the borderline of what can justifiably be
In particular, the capacity of human beings to be affected by linguistic
called meaningfully oriented action, and indeed often on the other
triggers (as well as by nonlinguistic expressions of solidarity, legitimacy or
side,.31 (The other side being social action explained in purely causal
prestige) demands explanations in which reasons for acting are involved
terms, as in reactions triggered by habitual or affective stimuli.) But there
and, in some cases, by explanations involving motives. Roughly, while
are other cases of explanation by reasons that do not reduce to causal
reasons may be exemplified by traditional values or personal emotions,
ones and do not involve any deliberate choices by social actors. In these
motives are a special kind of reason involving explicit choices and goals. 27
cases, making sense of social behaviour involves giving reasons sU(:h as
As the sociologist Max Weber argued long ago, causes, reasons and
the beliefin the existence of a legitimate order, or the desire to live up to
motives are typically combined in the interpretation of social action, that
the expectations associated with that order. Beliefs and desires may be
is, action oriented towards the behaviour of others. As he writes: 'A
treated as attitudes towards the meaning of declarative sentences (that is,
correct causal interpretation of a concrete course of action is arrived at
towards propositions), and to this extent they do involve reference to
when the overt action and the motives have been correctly apprehended
semantics. Propositional attitudes are also involved in social action
and at the same time their relation has become meaningfully compre­
explained by motives, of course, such as the belief in the causal adequacy
hensible: 28 The fact that Weber speaks of 'causal interpretations' is
of some means or the desirability of the goals. But in the case of
conveniently ignored by most students of his method of understanding
traditional reasons for action, causal adequacy may not be a motivating
(or Verstehen). This method by no means licenses the conclusion that all
factor, and the desirability of a course of action may not depend on
social action may be read like a text, or that all social behaviour can be
specific goalsY It is only in this case that the relations between the
treated as an enacted document. 29 The source of this mistaken assessment
propositions themselves, such as the relations between the propositions
of Weber's method is a confusion of two different meanings of the word
that make up a religious doctrine, become crucial to make sense of social
'meaning': signification and significance, one referring to semantic content,
activities. And yet even this case will demand a mixture of semantic
the other to importance or relevance. That Weber had significance and
23
22
 ASSEMBLAGES AGAINST TOTALITIES
A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIETY

interpretation of the sacred texts involved and of assessments of the schools. But this socialization must, in addition, be conceived in
relative importance of different portions of these texts for the explanation probabilistic terms. Much as the effects of genes on the bodily
of concrete courses of action. characteristics of plants and animals are a matter of probabilities (not
Weber's method gives us a way to approach the question of linear causal determinism) and that, therefore. in describing populations
mechanisms in social assemblages: mechanisms which will always we are interested in the statistical distribution of the variation in these
involve complex mixtures of causes, reasons and motives. 33 Not bodily properties, so the effects of socialization should always be pictured
acknowledging the hybrid nature of social mechanisms can be a source as variable and the proper object of study should be how this variation is
of misunderstanding and mystification in social science. For example, distributed in a given population.
social activities in which means are successfully matched to ends are This concludes the introduction of assemblage theory. The next
traditionally labelled 'rational'. But this label obscures the fact that these chapter will add the only component which 1 !eft out here (the
activities involve problem-solving skills of different kinds (not a single topological diagram of an assemblage) after which the ontological status
mental faculty like 'rationality') and that explaining the successful of assemblages will be properly elucidated. It will also expand the
solution of practical problems will involve consideration of relevant discussion of the part-to-who!e relation that figures so prominently in the
causal events, such as physical interactions with the means to achieve a distinction between assemblages and totalities, and show in more detail
goal, not just calculations in an actor's head. Similarly, when giving how assemblage theory can help to frame the problem of the relation­
traditional routines as explanations one may reduce these to ritual and ships between the micro- and the macro-levels of social phenomena.
ceremony (and label these 'irrational'), but this obscures the fact that Once the problem has been correctly posed the other chapters will
many inherited routines are in fact problem-solving procedures which attempt to flesh out a solution.
have been slowly refined by successive generations. These practical
routines may be overlaid by ritual symbolism. while at the same time
being capable of leading to successful causal interactions with material
entities. sllch as domesticated plants and soil.
In addition to preserving the objective and subjective components,
social mechanisms must include the full variety of causal interactions,
that is, they must take into account that the thresholds characterizing
nonlinear causality may vary from one actor to another (so that the same
external cause may affect one but not the other) and that causal
regularities in the behaviour of individual actors are, as Weber himself
argued, only probabilistic. 34 Statistical causality is even more important
when we consider populations of actors. Thus, in the case of explanation
by motives, we may acknowledge that individual actors are capable of
making intentional choices, and that in some cases such intentional
action leads to the creation of social institutions (such as the written
constitutions of some modern nation-states), while at the same time insist
that the synthesis of larger social assemblages is many times achieved as
the collective unintended consequence of intentional action, that is, as a kind
of statistical result. In the case of explanations by reasons, on the other
hand, the collective aspect may already be taken into account if the
beliefs and desires involved are the effect of socialization by families or
25
24
 ASSEMBLAGES AGAINST ESSENCES

2 level of a species: human or horse. These species may be further divided,

of course, since we can divide humans into those which are black or
Assemblages against Essences white, musical or not musical, just or unjust, but these are not necessary
differences, but mere accidental combinations defining individuals with
proper names. 2 Thus, it is at the level of species, or at the level of what
modem philosophers call 'natural kinds', that we find the essence or very
3
~
nature of entities.
In evolutionary theory, of course, this line of argument would be
rejected. The properties differentiating one animal species from another,
to stick to Aristotle's example, would be considered every bit as
contingent as those marking the differences between organisms. The
properties of species are the result of evolutionary processes that just as
they occurred could have not occurred. The enduring identity of a given
species is accounted for in terms of the different forms of natural selection
(predators, parasites, climate) that steer the accumulation of genetic
Essentialism is the main reason offered by many social scientists to justify
materials in the direction of greater adaptability, as well as the process
their rejection of realism. Postulating social entities with an enduring and
through which a reproductive community becomes separated into two
mind-independent identity, these critics would argue, implies the
progressively divergent communities until they cannot mate with one
existence of essences defining that identity. But what exactly arc these
another. While the first process yields the diflerentiating properties of a
essences supposed to be? While very few realists today would feel
species, the second one, called 'reproductive isolation', makes those
ontologically committed to assen the existence of eternal archetypes,
properties more or less durable by closing its gene pool to external genetic
there are subtler forms of essentialism in which essences are introduced
flows. This isolation need not result in perfectly impermeable barriers.
when taxonomists reify the general categories produced by their
Many plant species, for example, maintain their ability to exchange genes
classifications. It is therefore important to begin this chapter by explaining
with other plant species, so their identity is fuzzy in the long-run. But
how assemblage theory does not presuppose the existence of reified
even the defining boundaries of fully reproductively isolated animals like
generalities.
ourselves may be breached through the usc of biotechnology, for
Taxonomic essentialism, as opposed to its Platonic variety, may be
example, or through the action of retroviruses, a fact that confirms the
traced back to the work of the great philosopher Aristotle, who created a
method for the classification of entities into a three-level hierarchy: the contingent nature of the boundaries.
In addition to sharing the contingency of their enduring properties,
genus, the species and the individual. For example, if the genus in
organisms and species are also alike in that both arc born and die:
question is 'animal', the method demands that we find specific differences
reproductive isolation marks the threshold of speciation, that is, the
which divide this genus into lower classes: for example, 'two-footed' and
historical birth of a new species, and extinction defines its equally
'four-footed' animals. This new level, in turn, can be divided into even
historical death. What this implies is that a biological species is an
lower classes by differences of differences. But here one must be careful,
individual entity, as unique and singular as the organisms that compose it,
since as Aristotle says, 'it is not proper to say that an animal which has the
but larger in spatiotemporal scale. In other words, individual organisms
suppon of feet, one sort we find with wings and another without them, if
are the component parts of a larger individual whole, not the particular
one is to express oneself correctly ... But it is correct to say so if one kind
members of a general category or natural kind. 4 The same point applies to
has doven, and another has feet that are not cloven; for these are
any other natural kind. For example, chemical species, as classified in the
differences of foot .. :1 This method, when properly followed, leads us to
periodic table of the elements, may be reified by a commitment to the
the point where we cannot find any further differences and reach the
27
26
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