Abstract

Deleuze's writings often bring Spinoza and Artaud into close proximity, and given that the latter is often first encountered by many anglophone readers through Deleuze, the tendency to think of Artaud as a Spinozist risks becoming conventional. In fact, much of Artaud's metaphysics is incompatible with Deleuze's Spinozism, not least the relation between a body and its constitutive outside, and the questions of affect and expression. In reading Artaud's ‘An Affective Athleticism’ essay and with recourse to his final works, this article will explore these differences with particular reference to vitalism, experimentation and unilateral difference.