--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The strategic problem is, of course, that…" description: "\"“The strategic problem is, of course, that simulacra are reassuring only when viewed from outside. They do not provide an existential model for how to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/charles-bernheimer-86652_embalming_the-strategic-problem-is-of-course-that_409853.jpg" --- # The strategic problem is, of course, that simulacra are… ![“The strategic problem is, of course, that simulacra are reassuring only when viewed from outside. They do not provide an existential model for how to be in the world. One can appreciate the brilliance of the embalmer's work, but one would not want to be its object.” quote by Charles Bernheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/charles-bernheimer-86652_embalming_the-strategic-problem-is-of-course-that_409853.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/charles-bernheimer-86652_embalming_the-strategic-problem-is-of-course-that_409853.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/charles-bernheimer-86652_embalming_the-strategic-problem-is-of-course-that_409853.jpg) > ““The strategic problem is, of course, that simulacra are reassuring only when viewed from outside. They do not provide an existential model for how to be in the world. One can appreciate the brilliance of the embalmer's work, but one would not want to be its object.”” [Charles Bernheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bernheimer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques simulacra for offering comfort only externally, lacking a framework for authentic existence within the world. **In simple terms:** Simulacra are comforting but don't guide real living. Key Takeaway Seek authentic models for living. Themes philosophy existentialism authenticity simulation Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - art criticism - philosophical debate - personal development Key Concepts simulation theory existential authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How do we find genuine meaning beyond appearances? - What alternatives to simulacra can guide us? A Different Perspective Simulacra may distract from confronting reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Course Simulacra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/course-simulacra-3657331/) [Embalmer Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embalmer-work-3657330/) [Embalming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embalming/) [Simulacra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simulacra-170740/) [Simulacra Reassuring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simulacra-reassuring-3657328/) [Strategic Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategic-problem-3657329/) ## Related quotes > [ “Whence the possibility of an ideological analysis of Disneyland (L. Marin did it very well in Utopiques, jeux d'espace \[Utopias, play of space\]): digest… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/whence-the-possibility-of-an-ideological-analysis-of-disneyland-l/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [“The New or Future Eve is emptied of all inner life and turned into a shell. The bitter irony in this is that her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asti-hustvedt/the-new-or-future-eve-is-emptied-of-all-inner-life-and-turned-into-a/) [Asti Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asti-hustvedt/) > [“How do we know that even the realest of realities wouldn't be subjective, in the final analysis? Nobody can prove his existence, can he?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-f-galouye/how-do-we-know-that-even-the-realest-of-realities-wouldn-t-be/) [Daniel F. Galouye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-f-galouye/) > [“As Marshall McLuhan pointed out, we've become so removed from reality that we're starting to prefer artificiality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-leith-gollner/as-marshall-mcluhan-pointed-out-we-ve-become-so-removed-from-reality/) [Adam Leith Gollner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-leith-gollner/) > [ “\[T\]he present age, which prefers the sign to the thing signified, the copy to the original\[.\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/t-he-present-age-which-prefers-the-sign-to-the-thing-signified-the/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [“There is no reason to assume that the unceasing forward march of techne will not eventually achieve a mimesis which replaces a natural world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/there-is-no-reason-to-assume-that-the-unceasing-forward-march-of/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [“The preferred worlds to simulate were either sci-fi or Edo-period Japan, as if the two breaks of the Meiji restoration (1868) and the occupation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mckenzie-wark/the-preferred-worlds-to-simulate-were-either-sci-fi-or-edo-period/) [McKenzie Wark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mckenzie-wark/) > [“Doomsday, when it came, wouldn't be a physical phenomenon; it would be an all-inclusive erasure of simulectronic circuits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-f-galouye/doomsday-when-it-came-wouldn-t-be-a-physical-phenomenon-it-would-be/) [Daniel F. Galouye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-f-galouye/) > [Indians do not hinder the progress of their dead by embalming or tight coffining. When the spirit has gone they give the body back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/indians-do-not-hinder-the-progress-of-their-dead-by-embalming-or/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [“Embalming was like . . . I don't know how to describe it. It was like playing with a giant doll, dressing it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-wells/embalming-was-like-i-don-t-know-how-to-describe-it-it-was-like/) [Dan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-wells/) > [I have one last request. Don't use embalming fluid on me; I want to be stuffed with crab meat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-have-one-last-request-don-t-use-embalming-fluid-on-me-i-want-to-be/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [The race of prophets is extinct. Europe is becoming set in its ways, slowly embalming itself beneath the wrappings of its borders, its factories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/the-race-of-prophets-is-extinct-europe-is-becoming-set-in-its-ways/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [The corpse of friendship is not worth embalming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-embalming/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [To waste! You are unknown and unwanted, save by me. This, because you are fairly adept at the various embalming arts and you occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/to-waste-you-are-unknown-and-unwanted-save-by-me-this-because-you-are/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [Presidential ambition is a disease that can only be cured by embalming fluid .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/presidential-ambition-is-a-disease-that-can-only-be-cured-by/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) ## More by Charles Bernheimer > [“Huysmans takes the old trope of moon-as-woman and replaces its romantic connotations with decadent ones: the moon here is woman as clamorous lunatic, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bernheimer/huysmans-takes-the-old-trope-of-moon-as-woman-and-replaces-its/) [Charles Bernheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bernheimer/) > [“For Zola, as for Huysmans, nature itself is uncanny because it is the domain of the feminine, a domain that is constitutionally defective, lacking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bernheimer/for-zola-as-for-huysmans-nature-itself-is-uncanny-because-it-is-the/) [Charles Bernheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bernheimer/) [Explore all 3 Charles Bernheimer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bernheimer/) ## More Embalming quotes > [Presidential ambition is a disease that can only be cured by embalming fluid .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/presidential-ambition-is-a-disease-that-can-only-be-cured-by/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [To waste! You are unknown and unwanted, save by me. This, because you are fairly adept at the various embalming arts and you occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/to-waste-you-are-unknown-and-unwanted-save-by-me-this-because-you-are/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [The corpse of friendship is not worth embalming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-corpse-of-friendship-is-not-worth-embalming/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The race of prophets is extinct. Europe is becoming set in its ways, slowly embalming itself beneath the wrappings of its borders, its factories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-artaud/the-race-of-prophets-is-extinct-europe-is-becoming-set-in-its-ways/) [Antonin Artaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-artaud/) > [I have one last request. Don't use embalming fluid on me; I want to be stuffed with crab meat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-have-one-last-request-don-t-use-embalming-fluid-on-me-i-want-to-be/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“Embalming was like . . . I don't know how to describe it. It was like playing with a giant doll, dressing it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-wells/embalming-was-like-i-don-t-know-how-to-describe-it-it-was-like/) [Dan Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-wells/) > [Indians do not hinder the progress of their dead by embalming or tight coffining. When the spirit has gone they give the body back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/indians-do-not-hinder-the-progress-of-their-dead-by-embalming-or/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [Nothing is more detestable to the physical anthropologist than... the wretched habit of cremating the dead. It involves not only a prodigal waste of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earnest-hooton/nothing-is-more-detestable-to-the-physical-anthropologist-than-the/) [Earnest Hooton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earnest-hooton/) > [Paperwork is the embalming fluid of bureaucracy, maintaining an appearance of life where none exists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-meltzer/paperwork-is-the-embalming-fluid-of-bureaucracy-maintaining-an/) [Robert H. Meltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-meltzer/) > [The Egyptians had a particularly nasty way of getting rid of people they felt had no consequence. Instead of embalming them, they simply constructed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perry-brass/the-egyptians-had-a-particularly-nasty-way-of-getting-rid-of-people/) [Perry Brass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perry-brass/) > [On 'Six Feet Under,' I never really had much to do with the actual business, with the embalming stuff. That wasn't really my role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-ambrose/on-six-feet-under-i-never-really-had-much-to-do-with-the-actual/) [Lauren Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-ambrose/) > [“Left to their own devices, human bodies rot, decompose, come apart, and sink gloriously back into the earth from whence they came. Using embalming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-doughty/left-to-their-own-devices-human-bodies-rot-decompose-come-apart-and/) [Caitlin Doughty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-doughty/) > [I wish it were possible, from this instance, to invent a method of embalming drowned persons in such a manner that they may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/i-wish-it-were-possible-from-this-instance-to-invent-a-method-of/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [As for Gussie Finknottle, many an experienced undertaker would have been deceived by his appearance and started embalming on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-for-gussie-finknottle-many-an-experienced-undertaker-would-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 15 Embalming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embalming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The strategic problem is, of course, that simulacra are reassuring only when viewed from outside. 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