True repetition produces a new difference each time.
To explain how difference is repeated, Deleuze outlines three "syntheses of time" that build upon one another: Difference and Repetition
The Affirmation of Difference: Reimagining Ontology in Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition True repetition produces a new difference each time
A shallow, extrinsic view where difference is only perceived when comparing two already-formed entities (e.g., A is not B). 1. Introduction: The Crisis of Representation
Deleuze argues that the "eternal return" is not a cycle of identical events, but a mechanism where only the difference returns, producing something new every time it repeats. 4. The Three Syntheses of Time
In Difference and Repetition , Gilles Deleuze launches a radical critique of Western metaphysics, arguing that philosophy has historically subordinated "difference" to "identity" and "representation." Deleuze proposes a reversal of this structure, advocating for an ontology where difference exists in-itself, independent of pre-defined concepts or subjects. By analyzing repetition not as a mechanical return of the same, but as a productive force creating novelty, this paper outlines how Deleuze shifts focus from being to becoming , from representations to intensive singularities. 1. Introduction: The Crisis of Representation