This book first arose out of a passage in [Jorge Luis]…
![“This book first arose out of a passage in [Jorge Luis] Borges, out of the laughter that shattered, as I read the passage, all the familiar landmarks of my thought—our thought that bears the stamp of our age and our geography—breaking up all the ordered surfaces and all the planes with which we are…” quote by Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/q/i/9a1/michel-foucault-1134_animals_this-book-first-arose-out-of-a-passage-i_571093.jpg)
““This book first arose out of a passage in [Jorge Luis] Borges, out of the laughter that shattered, as I read the passage, all the familiar landmarks of my thought—our thought that bears the stamp of our age and our geography—breaking up all the ordered surfaces and all the planes with which we are accustomed to tame the wild profusion of existing things, and continuing long afterwards to disturb and threaten with collapse our age-old distinction between the Same and the Other. This passage quotes a ‘certain Chinese encyclopaedia’ in which it is written that ‘animals are divided into: (a) belonging to the Emperor, (b) embalmed, (c) tame, (d) suckling pigs, (e) sirens, (f) fabulous, (g) stray dogs, (h) included in the present classification, (i) frenzied, (j) innumerable, (k) drawn with a very fine camelhair brush, (l) et cetera, (m) having just broken the water pitcher, (n) that from a long way off look like flies’. In the wonderment of this taxonomy, the thing we apprehend in one great leap, the thing that, by means of the fable, is demonstrated as the exotic charm of another system of thought, is the limitation of our own, the stark impossibility of thinking that.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The passage illustrates how categories we create to understand the world are arbitrary and can obscure the richness of reality, revealing the limits of our own conceptual frameworks.
In simple terms: Our classifications are limited and often hide true complexity.
Key Takeaway
Question your assumptions and explore alternative perspectives.
Themes
philosophy
epistemology
culture
language
identity
Mood
thoughtful
critical
inquisitive
Type
analytical
reflective
When to use this quote
- academic research
- cross‑cultural studies
- creative writing
- critical theory
- education
Key Concepts
taxonomy
otherness
conceptual limits
cognitive framing
Questions to Reflect On
- How do our categories shape what we consider normal?
- What alternative systems could better capture diversity?
A Different Perspective
Such taxonomies can reinforce power structures and exclude marginalized viewpoints.