The body as a field of forces: elements for a political philosophy of difference

Abstract

This article proposes a philosophical-political approach to the body based on the contributions of Nietzsche, Foucault, and Deleuze & Guattari, aiming to investigate the processes of subjectivation, domination, and the production of difference in contemporary societies. Starting from a critique of the traditional conception of politics centered on institutions and rational decisions, it argues that the body and the dimension of desire constitute fundamental instances of political life. Through a conceptual and genealogical analysis, the article explores the ways in which bodies are organized, normalized, and captured by discursive practices, knowledges, and institutions, while also examining how they harbor forces of resistance, creation, and transformation. By highlighting the micropolitical dimension of social relations, the text seeks to contribute to a political understanding that integrates the unconscious, affects, and difference as key operators in the production of ways of life and subjectivities.