Absolute Deterritorialization, Aporia and the Open System: The Spiral in Deleuze, Axelos, Heraclitus

Throughout, the paper examines the concept of the unexpected. Heraclitus, Kostas Axelos, and Bernard Stiegler are invoked to decipher the impossible-possibility encapsulated in Heraclitus’ Fragment 18. The term ‘unhoped-for’ signifies the ‘un-passable’ or ‘un-traversable,’ akin to an insurmountable enigma. Aporia, or a difficult-to-resolve impasse, is associated with this sense. The unexpected challenges all expectations, revealing the hidden truth within aporia. The ‘methodology’ to transcend the aporon echoes Heidegger’s pursuit as Being tends toward self-concealment. This exploration urges us to consider the utterly unforeseen and discover possibilities in the impossible itself, emphasizing the need to be radically open to the as-yet undiscovered. With this in mind, the paper considers Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of absolute deterritorialization, the question of utopia, and engages with an array of contemporary continental thinkers to highlight the transformative potential of crisis, exhaustion, and uncertainty. The image of the spiral is invoked as a metaphor for the creativity inherent in thought itself.