Rhizome is a philosophical concept developed by French theorists Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. It is a central term in their collaborative work, particularly in A Thousand Plateaus (1980), the second volume of Capitalism and Schizophrenia. The concept is used to describe a non-hierarchical, decentralized, and multiplicious model of thought, knowledge, and existence, in contrast to the hierarchical, tree-like ("arborescent") model that Deleuze and Guattari argue has dominated Western philosophy.
Origin and Development
The term was first introduced in Deleuze and Guattari's 1975 book Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature, where it was used to suggest that Franz Kafka's work is not bound by linear narrative structure and can be entered at any point. It was then extensively elaborated in the introduction to A Thousand Plateaus, originally published separately as a standalone essay titled Rhizome (1976).
Etymologically, the term derives from the Ancient Greek ῥίζωμα (rhízōma), meaning "mass of roots." In botany, a rhizome is a subterranean stem that grows horizontally, sending out roots and shoots from its nodes — examples include ginger, bamboo, and couchgrass.
Core Principles
In A Thousand Plateaus, Deleuze and Guattari enumerate six "approximate characteristics" of the rhizome:
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Principles of connection and heterogeneity: Any point of a rhizome can be connected to any other point, regardless of their nature. Unlike a tree structure, which "plots a point, fixes an order," a rhizome ceaselessly establishes connections between semiotic chains, organizations of power, and circumstances relative to the arts, sciences, and social struggles.
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Principle of multiplicity: A rhizome is a multiplicity that has no relation to the One as subject or object. It has neither subject nor object, only determinations, magnitudes, and dimensions. It cannot increase in number without changing in nature.
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Principle of asignifying rupture: A rhizome may be broken or shattered at any point, but it will start up again on one of its old lines or on new lines. There is no oversignifying break; lines of flight (deterritorialization) are always part of the rhizome.
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Principles of cartography and decalcomania: A rhizome is a map, not a tracing. It is not amenable to any structural or generative model. The map is open, connectable in all its dimensions, detachable, reversible, and susceptible to constant modification. It has multiple entryways.
Opposition to Arborescence
The rhizome is defined in explicit opposition to the "arborescent" (tree-like) model of thought. Deleuze and Guattari argue that Western thought has been dominated by the image of the tree: hierarchical, rooted in a single origin, and organized through binary divisions. This model, they contend, is present in fields ranging from biology (evolutionary trees) to linguistics (Chomsky's grammatical trees) to psychoanalysis (the Oedipus complex).
The tree model, in their view, imposes the verb "to be" — a logic of identity and essence. The rhizome, by contrast, operates through the conjunction "and... and... and..." — a logic of connection, alliance, and becoming. "The tree is filiation, but the rhizome is alliance."
The Rhizome as Open System
Deleuze described the rhizome as an example of an "open system" — a system in which concepts relate to circumstances rather than essences. Unlike a closed system (which is hierarchical, predetermined, and unable to interact with its outside), a rhizomatic system survives and evolves through continuous exchanges with its environment. It is defined not by a central organizing principle but by the circulation of states and the proliferation of connections.
Applications and Influence
The concept of the rhizome has been widely influential across multiple disciplines, including literary theory, cultural studies, media theory, art, political theory, and information science. It has been used to model decentralized networks such as the internet, to analyze non-linear narrative structures in literature and film, and to theorize forms of political organization that resist hierarchical authority.
Key Distinctions
- Rhizome vs. Tree: The rhizome is acentered, non-hierarchical, and multiplicious; the tree is centered, hierarchical, and genealogical.
- Map vs. Tracing: The rhizome produces a map oriented toward experimentation and construction; the tree produces a tracing that reproduces preexisting structures.
- Alliance vs. Filiation: The rhizome operates through lateral connections and alliances; the tree operates through vertical descent and filiation.
References
- Deleuze, Gilles, and Félix Guattari. A Thousand Plateaus. Translated by Brian Massumi. University of Minnesota Press, 1987.
- Deleuze, Gilles, and Félix Guattari. Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature. Translated by Dana Polan. University of Minnesota Press, 1986.
- Deleuze, Gilles. Negotiations. Columbia University Press, 1995.
