Since its publication in 1968 Difference and Repetition an exposition of the critique of
identity has come to be considered a contemporary classic in philosophy and one of Gilles
Deleuze's most important works. The text follows the development of two central concepts those
of pure difference and complex repetition. It shows how the two concepts are related
difference implying divergence and decentring repetition being associated with displacement
and disguising. The work moves deftly between Hegel Kierkegaard Freud Althusser and
Nietzsche to establish a fundamental critique of Western metaphysics and has been a central
text in initiating the shift in French thought - away from Hegel and Marx towards Nietzsche
and Freud.
