Terms
Diagram: The Virtual

The Virtual

This term is used by relational/assemblage philosophers to speak about the 'space of possibilities'.

'The Virtual' is a term used by Deleuze and Guattari that parallels the idea of Phase Space. The Virtual alludes to aspects of reality that may or may not manifest, depending on how a system comes to be activated.


An example of 'The Virtual' would be the shape of a soap bubble. The shape of the soap bubble exists as a potential form whether or not it is 'activated' by the interaction of air blowing into a soap solution. In this way, we can think of things as having a virtual 'realness' even prior to them being actualized.

The Virtual is one of many terms introduced by philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to describe a philosophy that focuses on an 'ontology of becoming'. Here, the world as it exists is Worth mentioning here other terms used by Deleuze/Guattari: 'plane of consistency'; 'body without organs'; 'machinic phylum' (as described by Delanda).

The notion of the virtual is discussed in the video below, as part of Dr Sharon Wohl's course on complex adaptive systems:

 


Cite this page:

Wohl, S. (2022, 13 June). The Virtual. Retrieved from https://kapalicarsi.wittmeyer.io/definition/the-virtual

The Virtual was updated June 13th, 2022.

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  • There would be some thought experiments here.