This treatise represents the culmination of Deleuze's lifelong work in philosophy. Philosophy for Deleuze and Guattari concerns itself not with the actual but with the virtual - a domain of problems and possibilities. The book begins by detailing Deleuze's and Guattari's conception of philosophy. It then develops their understanding of the relationship between philosophy, science and the arts. The authors begin with the three basic elements of philosophy - concepts, the plane of immanence and conceptual personae - and explore the relationship between philosophy and the history of social development in the West. Deleuze and Guattari differentiate between philosophy, science and the arts, seeing each as a means of confronting chaos. They challenge the common view that philosophy is an extension of logic. In addition, the authors discuss the arts - in particular the similarities and distinctions between creative and philosophical writing.