Essay Exampe: Deleuzes Concept of Desire

Jackson and Mazzei's book, Thinking with Theory in Qualitative Research illustrates how researchers can use different philosophical concepts in their investigations or scientific inquiries in qualitative research studies. Specifically, the authors focus on how the data analysis process can be approached from a multiplicity of angles based on different philosophical models of inquiry. By using the same data set, they are able to illustrate how different philosophical concepts can be implemented in qualitative research studies. Among the philosophical concepts discussed is Deleuzes Concept of Desire from page 84-109 of the book.

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The core of Deleuzes Concept of Desire is that desire plays the function of producing smooth social and professional relations. For instance, desiring silence can help create and maintain good familial relationships in the society. In principle, Deleuze tries to relate the concept of desire and production in a manner that contradicts the Freudian concepts of sexuality as well as the anti-Oedipus approach to motivation. Consequently, Deleuze posits that contrary to what Freudian theories suggest, desire is not like an imaginary force that is based on lack. It is a real productive force that helps to shape many aspects of relationships. Deleuze imagines desire as a multifunctional world consisting of several interlinked machines. In this regard, this concept of desire-production as espoused by Deleuze and Guttari seems more to be a general approach to what Friedrich Nietszche addressed in his theory of will power. Both concepts contain the element of a pleasurable force that comes from external sources, but which is incorporated into oneself in such a manner that it characterizes the essential processes of an individuals life.in the same manner, there is a reverse kind of force linked to forgetting in Nietzsches theory of the body without organs. In Deleuze and Guattaris concept of desire-production, they attempt to realize the ideal nature of an hermetic subject through their theory.

Therefore, when exploring an issue such as fascism, Deleuze and Guattaris concept of desire-production will mainly interested in the question such as why did the people desire fascism? Through such an approach, a researcher will be able to build and establish a relationship between the masses and the concept of fascism. The researcher will be able to establish the main factors that motivated the masses to be drawn towards fascism. In essence, Deleuze and Guattari criticized the element of dualism in theory in order to establish a rational social reality that exists on the one side while there is an irrational reality based on desire that is on the other side. This dualistic approach to comprehending desire does not effectively address the issues of motivation or desire and production as illustrated by Deleuze and Guattari.

In conclusion, Deleuze and Guattaris concept of desire is one of the major philosophical approaches of condictying data analysis in qualitative research as explained by Jackson and Mazzeis book, Thinking with Theory in Qualitative Research. This new approach differs from earlier established theoretical models such as Freudian concepts of psychoanalytic and motivation as well as the Oedipus complex. Therefore, Deleuze and Guattari were able to build a new approach for understanding social relations that can be very effective in assisting the data analysis process in qualitative research studies. The desire-production approach is based on the fact that desire plays the function of producing smooth social and professional relations.

References

Marn, T. M. (2015). Thinking with Theory in Qualitative Research. The Qualitative Report, 20(6), 762-764.