Rhizomes, Forms, Rhythms, and Other Transportation Systems. An Attempt at Introducing Constructalism in Literary Theory

Abstract

The present study sets out to integrate the constructal theory set forth by physicist Adrian Bejan’s in his Design in Nature (2012) with literary theory. To this end, I selected two works that have the potential to engage in a fruitful dialogue with constructalism: Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s Mille Plateaux (1980) and Caroline Levine’s Forms (2015). Though seemingly divergent, due to the fact that constructal theory focuses primarily on the physical world, while the abovementioned books deal mainly with “symbolic goods” (Pierre Bourdieu), their approaches afford real conversations and the possibility of an advantageous solution exchange.