Clues for a fractal ontology in Félix Guattari: the fractalization of existential territories

Abstract

This article conducts a theoretical and conceptual investigation of the concept of fractalization in the philosophy of difference and schizoanalysis, aiming to explore the fractal ontology proposed by Félix Guattari in his recent works. To achieve this, we propose an understanding of fractal geometry in mathematics, map some clues of the early appearances of fractal geometry in the philosophy of difference, and trace a theoretical path through the concepts of smooth space and striated space in A thousand plateaus, followed by the theory of lines, to ultimately reach fractal ontology, which is seen to be articulated with the machinic ontology proposed by Guattari in Chaosmosis. By emphasizing the ethical, aesthetic, and political dimensions of fractalization, we conclude that fractal ontology may become a useful analytical tool for creating metamodelizations capable of dealing with an ontological pluralism and the continuous mechanisms of capture and homogenization within processes of subjectivation.