The Logic of Meaning: A Philosophical Framework for Psychologists

The French philosopher Gilles Deleuze is renowned for his innovative and creative thinking, making his works both challenging and enriching. In The Logic of Sense, first published in 1969, he explores how meaning is not a static entity but a dynamic process continuously evolving through our interactions with the world. Deleuze’s ideas can inspire psychologists to rethink how we understand mental processes, meaning, and subjectivity.

One of Deleuze’s central points is that meaning does not simply exist or emerge as a fixed result of truth or factual circumstances. He emphasizes that meaning is event-based—it takes place in the encounter between the individual and the world. In psychological practice, this perspective provides insights into how clients’ feelings, thoughts, and behaviors are shaped by their experiences and life events rather than merely by internal, static structures such as diagnoses or traumas.

Deleuze also highlights that meaning doesn’t necessarily have deep roots but rather exists on the surface—in what happens. This liberating perspective reminds psychologists of the importance of attending to what unfolds in the present and how the client’s current experiences and interpretations generate new forms of meaning.

The Event as a Key Concept

For Deleuze, the event is a central concept. He views events as open, problematic, and full of potential for new interpretations. Events do not merely create meaning based on their causes but also on the possible future paths they open up. In a therapeutic context, psychologists can view the client’s experiences as a series of events that do not have a predetermined meaning but are open to new interpretations and directions.

Deleuze’s understanding of events as “singularities”—unique points not defined by fixed structures or norms—can help psychologists see their clients’ unique life journeys without confining them to normative frameworks or expectations. This perspective encourages an approach where the client’s experiences can be seen as individual and meaningful in their own right rather than something that must fit into predetermined categories.

The Pluralism of Meaning

Deleuze views meaning as pluralistic and multidimensional. It arises in relationships rather than being an absolute entity. This perspective can be applied in psychotherapy to understand how the client’s meaning is created through complex relations between thoughts, emotions, and interpersonal connections. This means the therapeutic process should open up to multiple interpretations of the client’s experiences rather than seeking a single “truth.”

This resonates with the importance of recognizing the client’s narrative and subjective reality. Instead of forcing a particular meaning or diagnosis onto the client’s experience, Deleuze’s philosophy invites us to let the client co-create new meaning based on their life events. The therapist, therefore, can act as a facilitator, supporting a more open and curious approach to the client’s inner world.

Deleuze draws on Friedrich Nietzsche’s idea of “the will to power”—not as a desire for domination but as the ability to create new values. This transformative potential can be a powerful tool for psychologists when working with clients, especially when it comes to self-understanding and identity.

This is especially relevant in existential therapies, where the client may face fundamental questions of meaning, purpose, and values. Deleuze offers a way of thinking in which the client’s life is seen as a continuous process of creation and transformation rather than something fixed.

The Ethics of Meaning

Deleuze’s final remarks on ethics are particularly relevant for psychologists. He writes that ethics is about becoming “worthy of what happens to us.” In a therapeutic context, this can be translated as an invitation to help the client find a way to accept, integrate, and grow from the events that shape their life. It’s not about avoiding pain or suffering but finding a dignified way to carry and transform these experiences.

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For psychologists, this is a call to view meaning-making as a process that doesn’t just involve reducing symptoms but helping the client find new ways of being in the world—ways that are both meaningful and deeply connected to their experiences and life events.

Deleuze offers a way of thinking about meaning, events, and life processes that can enrich psychological thought and practice. By seeing meaning as something that is constantly created in relation to our experiences and by understanding events as problematic, Deleuze opens the door to a therapeutic approach that is more flexible, creative, and open to new possibilities.