It is Bergson who defines the task of philosophy as one of learning to think beyond the human condition. What exactly is the meaning of this ‘beyond’? Deleuze configures the task as follows: ‘To open us up to the inhuman and the superhuman (durations which are inferior or superior to our own), to go beyond the human condition: This is the meaning of philosophy, in so far as our condition condemns us to live among badly analyzed composites, and to be badly analyzed composites ourselves’ (Deleuze 1966: 19; 1988: 28). Why are we caught up in the investigation of badly analyzed composites and why are we those ourselves? What does it mean to be open to other durations?