This article introduces the concept of "atmospheres of theory" in order to address the affective dimension of theories. Beyond a narrow focus on the author or the text, the atmosphere of theory is conceived of as a product of the performative interactions between text, reading practices, things and spaces. Following Ludwik Fleck's theory of thought styles, thought collectives and moods, the dynamics of theoretical atmospheres are outlined and updated by means of the recent debates on atmospheres and affects. In this way, theoretical atmospheres can be grasped as products of affective practice (Wetherell) and amended with regards to non-human objects. By comparing the systems-theoretical (Luhmann) and the deconstructive thought style (Deleuze and Guattari), the article presents an analysis of two contradicting theoretical atmospheres considering the parameters of the text, the practice of reading, and the things and spaces of theory. Based on the self-descriptions and important metaphorical registers, they are accentuated as "hot" vs. "cold" theories. The concept of theoretical atmospheres targets a constitutive but mostly overlooked dimension of theories and serves to contribute to the debate about processes of theorizing by offering tentative answers to the question: Why do theories fascinate?
