Intersections in Immanence: Spinoza, Deleuze, Negri

The connection between French philosopher Gilles Deleuze and Italian political theorist Antonio Negri has drawn attention in academic publications over the last decade. For both thinkers, the philosophical concept of immanence is central to how both respectively conceptualize the world. However, in order to consider their work with regard to a metaphysical grounding, one may benefit from turning to each thinker's engagement with Jewish Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza whose immanent ontology, or monism, was indeed his Ethics. This essay concentrates on drawing out an ontological distinction between the philosophical projects of Deleuze and Negri by way of a close reading of their interpretation of Spinoza's work. It is through Deleuze's and Negri's respective readings of Spinoza that we can contrast the two in terms of their ontologies, which, in the end, is ultimately a discussion of modality, of ethics, and of positive limits.