Unifying minor sciences and minor literatures: Reproduction and revolution in quantum consciousness as a model for the anthropology of science

This paper argues that the theories of minor science and literature developed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari can provide a framework for an anthropology of science that takes alternative and marginalized sciences seriously. It examines three aspects: the political relationship of minor to dominant sciences, the role of science in the state, and how minor sciences reconfigure dominant sciences. Using the case study of 'quantum consciousness' research in the United States, the paper shows how this field proposes to replace dominant metaphysics in Western science and how its minority status is perpetuated by power structures tied to the state and knowledge production.

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Abstract

In this paper, we explore the possibility of using Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s theories of minor science and literature to examine the role of marginalized sciences, particularly in the United States. We suggest that by combining Deleuze and Guattari’s work on minor sciences and minor literatures that the framework for an anthropology of science which takes alternative and marginalized sciences seriously can be established. To elucidate this model of inquiry, we focus on three aspects defined by Deleuze and Guattari: the political relationship of minor to dominant sciences, the role of science in the state, and the ways that minor sciences reconfigure dominant sciences. As a case study, we examine the science of ‘quantum consciousness’ in the United States. Quantum consciousness research proposes to replace dominant metaphysics in Western science, and its minority status is perpetuated by the power structures that draw on dominant sciences’ relationships to the state and knowledge production.