The problem of violence is endemic in philosophical thinking. The desire for mastery, rational proof, persuasive means and certainty are hallmarks especially of modern and contemporary Western philosophy. In ‘How is this Paper Philosophy?’, Kristie Dotson discusses the implications of what she calls ‘the culture of justification’ model of philosophy. This model alienates many philosophers from non-white and non-Western backgrounds due to disciplinary pressures in which their ideas and practices are evaluated in relation to ‘presumed commonly-held univocally relevant justifying norms’. But philosophy can be richer than this. As Robert C. Solomon has put it, the failure of ‘thin’ contemporary philosophy to take seriously and seek out multiple, broad forms of practice ‘bespeaks a profound impoverishment’. Enriching philosophy through inclusiveness and the self-critique of its own presuppositions is imperative if it is to continue to be of value to ethical thinking and practices. This imperative is particularly relevant due to the problems of violence experienced today, from the micro-violences well-meaning people commit despite their best intentions to the fascist forms of violence that have made refugees of millions. Taking a deeper look at whether the Deleuzian ethos of critique is guilty of this in the articulation of specific educational practices is thus the next step.

Fascist Anti-fascism

For the purpose of developing the critical ethos, it is helpful to borrow some of the vocabulary from Walter Benjamin's 1921 essay ‘On the Critique of Violence’. Here Benjamin explores the implications of violent interventions on behalf of the state by those empowered to exercise a law-preserving function. In relation to the Deleuzian ethos and educational practices, this is the problem of fascist anti-fascism that acts as a form of thought policing. This anxiety about police violence resonates deeply today in the wake of the militarisation of local police forces along with their seeming immunity to accountability. Benjamin, for his part, distinguishes ‘law-preserving’ or police violence from ‘law-making’ or terrorist violence. ‘Law-making’ violence is required to found a state – but once the state is established, its terrorist ‘law-making’ violence is legitimised, thereby becoming ‘law-preserving’ police violence. ‘Law-preserving’ police violence is thus the new name for terrorist ‘law-making’ violence after it has become legitimised by the state it served to found.