ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some possible reasons for the shift from Jacques Derrida’s philosophy to Deleuze’s philosophy in qualitative inquiry. To make clear the ontological difference between Derrida and Deleuze, it is necessary to focus on the concept of form or, more accurately, the concept of the formless or “informal”. By emphasizing contamination, Derrida conceives of difference as involving mediation, whereas by emphasizing difference in itself, Deleuze conceives of difference without mediation. Deleuze’s emphasis on experimentation and creation fosters an image of the researcher as possessing some degree of power, and with the shift from Derrida to Deleuze in qualitative inquiry, this image has largely replaced the Derridean image of the researcher as fundamentally powerless. Within post-structuralism, immanence means to “remain within” or “be a part of,” whereas transcendence means to “go beyond” or “be outside of or above.”.
