Cartes Ove Immanence: A Life ‘Whats 2 transcendental field It can be dstingvished from experience in that it doesnt refer to an object cor belong toa sabject(empirial representation) I appears therfore asa pure stream of a-subjective consciousness, a pre-rfleive impersonal conscious nest a qualitative duration of consciousness without self It my seem curios that the transcendental be defined by such inumediate givens: we wil speak ofa transcendental empiri in contrat to everything that makes up the world ofthe subject andthe objet. “Thete is something will and powerful in thie tan scendental empiricist thit i af course not the ele ment of sosation (simple empiricism), for sensation is only a break witha the flow of bole conseious- ness. Is rather, however clase two senstions may he the passage from one to the other as hecoming, as increase o dereat in power (virtual quantity) Mustsve then define the transcendental fel by a pure i: mediate consciousness with neither object nor sel, tsa moveatent that neither begins nor ends? (Even Spinova's conception ofthis passage or quantity of power stil appeals to consciousness) atthe relation of the transcendental eld 0 com sciousnesis only a conceptual one. Consciousness becomes fact only when a subject is produced a the samme tate a its object, both Being outside the field and appearing a transcendent,” Conversely, Jong ws consciousness traverses the tanscendental Held at an infnite speed everywhere difsed, nothing is {o tose i! Is expresed im fc, only when iis lected on asubject that refers it to objects. That i ‘oy the transcendental field eannot be defined by the ‘sciousness that x coextensive witht, but remoed hom any revelation The transcendent is notthe transcendental, Wereit not for consciousness, the transcendental eld would Ine defined as pure pane af immanence, because it ules all transcendence ofthe subject and of the tbject Absolute immanence iin isl: i notin something, co somethings it does not depend on an bjt or belong to a subject. to Spinoza immanence ‘sat iosancnce to substance: rather, substance and in immanent. When the subject or the objet filing outside the plane ofmmanence taken 6 universal subjct ora any objec o which na rence is atributd, the transcendental is entirely de- ature, fori then simply redoubls the empirical (as ith Kant), and immanence is distorted, fort then finds itself enclosed in the transcendent. Immanence {snot related to Some Thing tunity superior to all things or to a Subject as an act that brings about a synthesis of thing its only when immanence is no longer fmmanence to anything oter than itself hat ‘we an speak of apne of immanence. No more than the transcendental field is defined by consciousness fan the plane of immanence be defined by a subject fran object that is able to contain it ‘We wl sy of pure immanence that itis ALIFE, and nothing eke. It is not mmanence to fe, bat the Inmmanent tha isin nothing i itelfa fe A if is the Jmmanence of mmanence, absolute imaanence: i complete power, complete bls. Its tothe degree that he goes beyond the aporas of the subject and the abject that Johann Fihte, in his last philosophy, presents the transcendental field so li, no longer dependent ona Being or submitted toan Act ~itisan sbsclute immediate consciousness whose very activity to longer refers to being bt is ceatclesly posed in 4 life The transcendental field then becomes a gen-tine plane of mmanence that reintroduce Spinal Ino the bear of the philosophical process, Did Mine de iran not go through sntething sea in bis “ast philosophy” (the one he was too tired to bring to fruition) when he discovered, beneath the trance ence of effort, an absolute immanent life? The tan scondental Feld ie defined bya plane of immanence, snd the plane of immanence by life. ‘Whatisimmanence? Alife... Noonehas described what lifes better than Charles Dicken, if we take he indefinite arte asa index ofthe tr ‘1, disreputable man, a rogue, held in contempt by seryone, i found ashe lies dying, Suddenly, those scene “king care ofhim manifest an eagerness, respect, even low for bis lightest sia of ie. Everybody bustles st to save him, co the poiat where, in his depest ra, this wicked man hitel seneessmmething sft ‘sweet penetrating him. fut to the degree that he mes back to lie i saviors tun colder, and he be ‘umes once agsn mean and crude. Hetween his life snd his death, dere ita moment that sony that of «life playing with death. The life of the individ fe that ves way to an impersonal and yet sng Feleascea pure event fred fom the accidents of inter sland external fe, thai from the sabjecivity and happens: a “Homo tantum” with tiv of wh ‘whom everyone empathizes and who attains a ort of beatitde, It isa haeccity no longer of individuation but of singularzation: ie of pute immanence, neu teal, beyond good and ei, foe i was oly the subject that incarnated i inthe midst of hag tht made it good or bad, The life of such nivale fades aay in favor of the singular life immanent toa man who rn longer has 2 name, though he can be mistaken for no other. A singular esence, life But we shouldn't enclose life in the single mo ment when individual ie confronts unives death, A lifes everyshere inal the moments tht given living subject goes through and that are measured by given ied object: an immanent life carrying with ic the events or singularities that are merely actalized in subjects and objects. This indefinite life doesnot itself have moments, close as they may be one to an- ‘othe, but only between-times, Between-moments it doesn't just come about or come alter but offers the Jmmensity of an empty’ time where one ses the event yet co come and already happened, in the absolute of| an immediate consciousness. In his novels, Alexaider Lemet-Holenis places the event in an in-between time that could engulf entire armies. The singularities aud che events that constitute a fe coexist with the accidents ofthe ie that corresponds to it, but theyareneither grouped nor divided inthe same way. They ‘connect with one another ia. a manner entirely dilfer- ‘nt from how individuals connect. It ven sets that 4 singular life might do without any individuality, ‘without any other concomitant that individuaizes it For example, very small children all resemble one other and have hardy any individuality, but they Ihave singularities a smile, a gestae, a Fanny face — ‘not subjective qualities. Smal children, through all ‘heir sfferings and weaknesses, ae infsed with an immanent life that is pute power and even bliss, The indefinite agpects in life lose all indtermination to the degre that dey fill outa plane of immanence or, ‘whatamountstothe same thing, tothe degree that they ‘constitute the elements ofa transcendental eld (in- Aida life, on the other hand, remains inseparable from empirical determinations. Theindefiniteassuch isthe mark not of an empirical indetermination but ‘fa determination by inmanence ora transcendental ‘leterminabity. The infinite article i the indetr: tmination of the person only because ii deter ‘ion ofthe singular, The One snot the transcendent ‘Hot might contain immanence but the lmmanent con tained within a ranscendental field, One ie always vex of 4 multiphcty: an even, a singularity, li... Alhgh is aways posible to woke a tan seendent that fils outside the pane of immanence, or that attributes immanence to itself, all eranscen ence i constituted soely inthe flow of immanent conscioumess tat belongs t this lane. Transcen ence is alas a product of immanence, Alife contains ony virus, fs nade up of vit alts, events, singularities. What we cll vietulis not something tat licks reality but something tha is engaged in a process of actuslizaton following the plane that gives its particularity, The immanent ‘events actualized in a tate of things an of the Lied that make itappen. The plane of iamanence is itself actulzed in an object and a subject to which tate butes itself. But however inseparable an object and a subject may be from their actualiation, te plane of Jmmanence is itself virtual, so long asthe events that populate tare vrtaies, Events or singularities give to the plane all their virtuality, just athe plane of lenmanence gives virtual event thei ful realy. The vent considered as non-actualized (indefinite is lack Ing in nothing. It salfices to pt i relation to its concomitant: a anscendental field, plane off ences if, singularities. A wound i incarnated ‘or actualized in a state of things or of lifes but its itll a pure vitality on the ple of imsmanence that Jeads us into ae My wound existe before me: notaranscendence ofthe wound as higher actuality but fas immanence apa virtuality always within a mii {plane or field) There isa bigdiference between the virtuale that define the immanence of the transce ‘ental flan he possible forms that actalze them an transform them ato something transcendent Ths though we fed ack to tin he gt which oncates rom anh twit pose wpe, truld never ve bones (Hee Berson, Mater end “Men [New Yor: ae Boks, 188,738) 2 CL ara Stew posts a tancendent eld iho jes that res enaclusen that imper on abate nant wthrepect i eset che jee ae “ramsndente (Lo mcendone de Ee [Pr i, 96) 9p. 74-8), On mes ee Dv Lago’ sine Hn nes de concen ces Wali Joes” P phe 6 ne 1995 Aen in he second intron o LD de sien “The ton of pte scy which icing ied gress ot ag, bate" (Ors es dle pipe rem [Ps Ven 1964p 274). Om th concept of Tecoding to ihe te Ito 3 i Berke (Pi: otic 1948), and Mar Gal commay f. 9 4 Dicks, Or alan (New Yrs Onn ie sy Pes 199), 9.3, 5. Bren Ediund Hanser ads his "The Big ofthe orl ecu ascent cae een wih ergy einen ein ces Wnsendont "ut ths don ange the ft hata mene eo ated sly inthe iff mentale a Me." (anos ns ae Vin, ET 52. This willbe te ring point of Si exe jt toe Cpa Ce 1955), ™