Abstract:

After his constructing of “non-philosophy” system in a series of works, French philosopher Fran?ois Laruelle extends his critique to the theory of photography. Aiming at nullifying philosophy’s domination over photography with his “non-photography”, Laruelle questions the concept of the “world”, on which most theories of photography rely, and invoked the so-called “immanent practice of photography” to eliminate philosophy’s negative influence upon photography. In addition, Laruelle utilizes the model of “generic fractal theory” expounded inTheories of Identities to enhance the rigor of “non-photography”. Nevertheless, there still exist numerous intractable issues within non-photography theory. Furthermore, these problems are not exclusively confined to on-photography theory. Therefore, after deep reflection on his early way of thinking, Laruelle replaces “generic fractal theory” with “generic quantum theory”. The latter’s inherent logic of paradox provides him with extensive theoretical space for “fiction”. One experimental accomplishment resulting from this revision is “photo-fiction”, which enables Laruelle to redefine his non-photography within the framework of generic quantum theory. Thus, Fran?ois Laruelle’s theory of photography not only provides us with not only a new path for reconsidering photography but also a perfect index for understanding his philosophy.

Key words: Fran?ois Laruelle, thought-world, non-photography, photo-fiction